


Keep Me Company in the Night

by bakane



Series: The Next Chapter [3]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-volume 3 feels, Slow Burn, Team RWBY if the fall of beacon never happened, no silver eyes stuff, they're just huntresses in training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-10-21 09:37:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17640305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bakane/pseuds/bakane
Summary: Assigned with their first solo mission at Beacon Academy, team RWBY runs eagerly towards an old swamp village, expecting nothing less than grimm-infested waters, the thrills of unexplored territories, and of course, mortal peril.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You can be my guiding light, keep me company in the night.  
> That's all I need, all I want is for you to stay a little longer now  
> With arms around me like a border.  
> Like the air, I breathe I let you in  
> Keep me warm underneath my skin, because I'm giving in to your touch.  
> I can never get enough.  
> Dive in deep into the ocean.
> 
> -The Ocean by Mike Perry

The air was thick and moist, like taking in water into her lungs. Weiss breathed through her mouth, trying her best to avoid the musty scent of algae and rotting wood.

The freshness of the morning was gone, and the early blue sky had changed into a dull, ugly grey. The jungle made all sorts of sounds as they walked. The trees surrounding them seemed to be buzzing, echoing a cacophony of beetles, birds, and frogs. A mosquito took flight next to her ear; Weiss swatted it away irritably, reminding herself to never visit this village again for as long as she lived.

This was one of her worst nightmares come to life.

Her troubles began with the start of their second semester. Professor Ozpin, their headmaster, had decided that it was time for second-year students to deal with a huntsman mission on their own. And though Weiss was happy to think that they were finally moving away from shadowing Professor Oobleck on his journeys, she was definitely unhappy about their assignment choice.

When Yang had selected a particularly difficult search and destroy mission from the list, there had been little description provided about what they were expected to do – other than the fact that they would be exploring difficult terrains and handling a new species of Grimm. The lure of it, according to Yang, had been the mystery.

Of course, as a future huntress, Weiss had no problems with sleeping outdoors, camping out in abandoned buildings like they had done so at Mountain Glenn. But she did not care much for the wilderness, nature with its moss-filled vegetation, puddles of dirty water, and slurps of mud.

And that was the exact terrain Weiss had to endure as the team ventured through the swamps, the local villager explaining the mission to them as they trudged alongside him.

"...And this is the town pub." The man looked to his right, pointing towards a dingy cabin in the middle of the woods. "You're welcome to stop by for a drink if you want, though I reckon all of you are still under-aged?"

"Oh no, sir. We're definitely not under- Oof!" Yang's words were cut off rather violently, a painful double jab delivered to her stomach, courtesies from both Weiss and Blake.

"Thank you for your hospitality, but we should really start investigating the fields," said Weiss swiftly. "Now... Where did you say the Grimm are mostly congregated?"

"Well..." He paused in his tracks, pondering over his answer for a minute. "Toilets, mostly."

"Toilets?" There was a moment of stunned disbelief, and then Yang began to laugh. "You mean they swim up along the pipes and bite people in the…?"

Ruby was giggling, though she at least tried to hide it behind a cough. Weiss remained silent, not wishing to dignify Yang's comment with a response. Alas, it was up to Blake, whose usual duty was to keep her partner in line.

"Yang." Blake sighed. "It's not funny."

"I didn't say it was," Yang retorted cheekily. "I was just making sure I heard it right."

"So, aside from the unfortunate..." Weiss hesitated for a moment. "The unfortunate  _plumbing_  situation... Where else do these creatures seem to be populating?"

The man shrugged, looking slightly relieved that the conversation was moving back towards a more serious tone. "They live in the lakes near the back of the village. We used to fish around those areas, but it's become too dangerous now with the recent Grimm infestation."

"No worries! We've got you covered!" Ruby, their leader, stopped him, not needing to hear more. "Team RWBY is on the case!"

"Thank you," the man sincerely stated, bowing his head low enough that his hat fell to the ground. He picked it up, hurrying out of embarrassment and excitement. "I'll let the townspeople know right away. They'll be delighted to hear the news."

"...Well, I guess this is going to be a total bust," Yang announced, watching in half-amusement as the man scurried off towards the village podium. "We're basically here to improve their sewage plans."

"Come on, sis. It's not going to be that bad." Ruby gave her sister a hopeful glance. "We're in our second year now. That means missions are going to get harder, better, and more interesting, right?"

"And more dangerous," Weiss made sure to remind everyone. "Remember, this is our first mission, done without the supervision of an actual huntsman or huntress. That means we always have to be twice on alert, lest we lose a limb or two."

"Sure, Weiss," snorted Yang. "Be morbid."

"Believe it or not, you are the least of my worries," muttered Weiss. She was looking at Ruby, as she said this. Ruby, who was humming quite casually as she swished around Crescent Rose.

It's been at least two years since Team RWBY had first formed. Weiss still couldn't believe the four of them had made it so far. To be completely honest, her expectations had hit rock bottom in the Emerald Forest, back when they were still freshmen and going through the horrors of Initiation. It was that fateful day when Weiss Schnee became paired up with the loud, annoying, and insufferable Ruby Rose.

Thinking back, the experience hadn't been _that_ terrible. It had actually been much, much worse than she imagined. She had dropped at least fifty feet from the sky, rode on the back of a gigantic Nevermore, been chased by a horde of carnivorous Grimm, and nearly stung to death by a vicious Death Stalker. And by the very end of the ordeal, she had been teamed up with the strangest, oddest group of individuals.

Ruby had grown on her though. Weiss frowned, feeling ridiculous as she admitted this point. Yes, Ruby was quite annoying and noisy. Yes, Ruby had literally made her  _explode_  the first time they met. At times, Weiss felt more like a babysitter than a serious battle partner. But even so, Ruby had not once let her down in a fight. When the time came, Ruby was more than capable of holding out her own. It was infuriating at times, seeing how easily she could transform from a playful, immature sixteen-year-old to a capable leader.

Now, Weiss didn't know what to expect anymore. Ruby was Ruby. It never suited her to be proven wrong – but she would never deny the fact that she had misjudged Ruby on the first night. She really was the best partner anyone could ever ask for.

For more than one reason, actually… But Weiss shook her head, defeating the urge. She didn't need to think about that right now. They were on a mission. She forced herself to focus on the matter at hand.

"Think this is it?" Yang broke her thoughts, stopping as they arrived at some isolated clearing.

"Ugh, what a wretched smell," Weiss complained, holding up a sleeve to her nose. "Do you think this stench has anything to do with their recent Grimm infestation?"

"I don't think so," commented Ruby, pinching her nose as well. "It just looks like a regular old swamp. Uncle Qrow used to come home smelling like this whenever he went on seedy missions in Mistral."

"What do you think, Blake?" Yang turned to her own partner. "Do you think it smells pretty fishy?"

This succeeded in earning a hard glare from Blake. Instead of answering, Blake shuffled away from the group, leaning over the swamp in careful observation. Weiss followed her, eager to get a start on their assignment.

"The water's too murky to see anything," she said, her amber eyes narrowing in deep concentration. "Maybe we should try a different location."

"I doubt there would be much of a difference," Weiss argued. "The man said that the Grimm were populated around these areas, didn't he? It could be possible that they don't surface unless they're provoked."

Blake frowned at the idea. "That doesn't sound like typical Grimm behavior."

"Well, we were informed that this was a special case," Weiss thought. "There are not many studies done on aquatic Grimm."

The two exchanged a long glance, both in their own speculations and theories.

"You're right." Blake's ears twitched, and she seemed to close her eyes, focusing much of her senses somewhere else. "They might be just lying dormant for now."

"The reports also said that most of the attacks occurred during the night. Maybe the creatures are nocturnal," Weiss helpfully contributed her thoughts.

"That does sound reasonable," Blake smirked, which Weiss returned with a small satisfactory grin.

To say the very least, Weiss enjoyed Blake's company. In a way, she appreciated it the most out of the group, considering how they had more similarities than she would have originally presumed. Most importantly, they both appreciated the value of silence and privacy. And though they had their own prejudices and troubles to work past, in the end, they had become strong friends. Weiss could always rely on Blake to get on a more logical, intellectual level with her. The rest of her team…

"Woah! Look, guys! I think I caught one!"

…Perhaps not so much.

"Ruby!" Weiss hissed, turning on her heels towards her partner, who had been squatting next to the edge of the swamp. "We are not here to fool around!"

Ruby had indeed caught something – something black, inky, and covered in nasty scales. It made a loud snapping sound, and the small huntress yelped, stepping backward and dropping her fishing stick in the process.

The Grimm bounced around in the wet grass, making a strange grinding noise with its teeth. It didn't seem to fair well without oxygen though, as its movements grew slower with each second.

"Hey! Nice going, sis!" Yang encouraged her nonetheless. She bent down on her ankles, staring curiously at the blackfish, which twitched and flopped rather uncontrollably in the dirt. "Maybe we should keep this one alive? Didn't Professor Peach say she wanted one as a research sample?"

"We can't capture Grimm, remember?" Weiss was quick to point out. "Weren't you paying attention in class?"

"Why would I need to, if you can tell me everything we've ever learned?" Yang laughed, patting Weiss on the head, and earning herself another growl.

Yang was tiring to deal with, especially with her less-than-stellar jokes and unoriginal puns. But she was an invaluable asset to the team. With her raw energy, her destructive semblance, and her contagious smile, she was the perfect counterpart to Blake. The two made sense together, regardless of what others may think.

The fish finally began to hiss, letting out a high-pitched croaking sound before it began to crack, disintegrating into a cloud of black dust.

"…So, I guess they can't survive out of water?" Ruby said out loud, poking around the spot where the fish had previously been. "What should we do then? We can't just lure the entire colony out of the swamp. Not that I would mind doing that but…"

"I think we should look around until the sun sets, cover all the grounds before it gets too dark," Weiss suggested with her arms crossed. "It'll be nice to get a better understanding of this creature and its terrain before tackling it straight on."

"Okay. Great idea." Ruby eagerly nodded at her partner's opinion. "Yang, Blake, you guys can go in that direction. Weiss and I will try over here."

"Wait." Weiss paused, a small bead of sweat trickling down her neck. "How about I go with Blake for once?"

"Huh?"

"Or Yang. I mean- We never really get to see each other."

"Uh, Weiss?" Yang raised an eyebrow. "We share a room."

"…Nevermind," she added when the other two looked at her blankly. Without providing much of an explanation, Weiss turned around, walking off into the direction her partner had pointed to. Ruby stayed behind, looking confused.

"Uh… What's with her?" Ruby asked, sounding moderately concerned.

"I don't know, sis. She's your partner," said Yang, shrugging. This seemed to translate as: "She's your problem, sis. Not mine!"

"Okay then?" Ruby bit her lips, not knowing exactly how to deal with this new issue. But with two years of experience, she knew it wouldn't take much to wear down Weiss. "No worries. I'll see you guys later. Call us if you find anything interesting!"

Ruby turned, catching a glimpse of her partner's back as she quickly disappeared through the bushes.

"Weiss!" she called out. "Wait for me!"

 

* * *

 

"Why do you think Weiss didn't want to go with Ruby?" Yang wondered, scratching her head as she asked her partner. "Now that I think about it, Weiss has been acting pretty strange lately. Do you think she's mad at her or something?"

"She's not mad," said Blake shortly, not bothering to look up as she followed the trail.

"How do you know that?" Yang asked again, sounding confused by Blake's unjustifiable certainty.

"You mean you haven't noticed?" Blake, in turn, also looked a bit surprised.

"Noticed what?"

"...Nothing." Blake shook her head, smiling as though she found the situation amusing. "It's nothing."

"What?" Yang pouted. "Come on, Blake! Now I  _need_  to know."

"I think we  _need_  to focus on the mission actually," Blake remarked, rolling her eyes as they made their way through the fog. "Watch your step. It's pretty slippery down here."

"How clumsy do you think I am?" Yang scoffed. "I'm not going to just trip over a random- Ouch!"

There was a loud thud, and then a splash. Blake bit back a fit of laughter, shaking slightly in mirth at the sight of her partner, half of her body in green swampy water, the other half clutching onto a couple of tree roots she had tripped over.

"You were saying?" Blake drawled, offering a hand to Yang, who grumbled something dark under her breath.

"Ha-ha. Very funny. I-" But Yang suddenly froze, her outstretched arm growing rigid and cold.

"Yang?" Blake asked, stepping forward in unforeseen dread.

"It's- It's got my leg!" she shouted in a panicky voice. "Something's got my leg!"

Immediately, Blake dropped down on her knees, grabbing Yang by her right arm. "Whatever you do, don't let go!"

"Damn it," Yang swore, her face growing pale. Her fingers dug into the earth as if she were afraid of losing her grip. "It's trying to pull me under!"

There was a loud groan, and Yang seemed to flinch in pain. Blake's heart began to race, remembering the set of sharp teeth the Grimm had sported. And judging by the creature's size, it couldn't have been anything but a newborn hatchling. If the fish grew to be anything larger than what Ruby had caught…

"I'm going to try and pull you out on the count of three," said Blake, trying to stay as calm as possible. "One, two…"

"Three!" And with a great upheaval of strength, Blake managed to heave Yang out of the water. Yang came toppling forward, quickly and swiftly, almost- almost too easily...

"Oof!" Blake felt the air leave her lungs, as Yang dropped on top of her stomach. Yang was grinning down at her, without a hint of previous distress. It was a familiar face: an expression of glee, with a mixture of maddening triumph.

"You..." Blake stiffened. She found herself lying with her mouth hanging open, trying to remember the rest of the sentence. It took a little over a second to realize what had happened. A flash of the quick temper leaped up into her eyes.

"Aw," said Yang, as she poked her partner on the forehead. "Were you that worried about me? I should try dying more often."

"Get off me," Blake growled, shoving Yang back into the lake.

There was another loud splatter, and this time she fell in entirely. Blake grunted, standing back up as she flicked dirt off of her jacket.

"I'm not falling for it again, Yang," she warned in a threatening tone. "Come out, otherwise I'm leaving you behind."

There seemed to be a series of bubbles forming from where she sank. They popped and wheezed before promptly disappearing. But otherwise, Blake received no other audible response.

"…Yang?" Blake pinched the bridge of her nose, half-hoping Yang was just playing another joke on her.

The silence suddenly swelled and pressed itself against Blake's ears. She supposed under any other circumstances she would feel pleased by it, but at the moment she felt absolutely nothing at all.

Seconds passed, and the panic filled her insides once more.

Before she had another minute to think, her legs began to move. Headfirst, she dove into the water. An unpleasant, wet substance bathed her in an instant.

It was much harder to see in the water than she expected. The murky swamp kept everything from view, both dangerous and benign. Blake fought to keep her eyes open. She searched for any signs, a single hint of golden hair.

Then, she found her. A single body was floating below her, sinking slowly towards the abyss. Blake swam frantically, ignoring the deafening throbs in her eardrums, fighting an unimaginable force that aimed to push her back towards the surface.

There was a coldness in Yang's hand. She was still as a corpse. Panicking, Blake grabbed onto her arm, pulling herself closer and latching on like a desperate net. She couldn't be too late. She would never forgive herself if she were. Blake locked her arms in between Yang's, grabbing the both of them and trying to climb up some invisible ladder.

Blake felt the burning pressure increasing in her lungs.

Her legs grew numb and tingly, beginning to fail under her will. A greater force pulled them from below. It was like a thick swirl of water and wind – some whirlpool, or a great powerful torrent of water. It began at her feet, then moved quickly along her waist. The pressure went deeper and deeper, and she felt strangely dizzy as her legs went round, their entire bodies twisting and turning with the course. The water turned raw and burned her. It sent forth fire and vapor to pursue them, and Blake was swallowed, stumbling blindly on in great pain and fear.

There was little that could be done as the current overtook her completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Hope to return soon with a fresh new AU! 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts/comments or prompts :)
> 
> See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2

Weiss was very careful not to say anything out of the ordinary.

It was hard enough to keep herself from tripping, trekking over lumpy tree roots, angry vines, and fields of mud that seemed to eat away the pristine soles of her shoes.

Naturally, this didn't bode too well for Ruby, who was known for her infinite babbling capabilities. It took less time than Weiss expected though, for Ruby to gather that she wasn't exactly in the mood for chit chat. Instead, Ruby followed her in silence, attempting to figure out whether this sudden silence was a result of her doing.

Well, Weiss bit her lips, technically it was and it wasn't.

She didn't feel entirely guilty, making Ruby stagger behind her like a lost puppy. She felt like the girl needed to take responsibility in  _some_  shape or form.

After all, the last couple of days had been absolutely dreadful. Weiss didn't know what it was that was making her act this childish. Honestly, even if she did know, she would never, in her wildest dreams, accept it to be true. She was, of all people, not the sort of person to feel this giddy and unprofessional about someone else. But most importantly, no amount of eye rolls, sarcastic comments, and alluded gestures from Blake would ever get Weiss to admit that she was beginning to develop feelings for-

She stopped herself, falling short of making that same critical mistake again.

Ruby Rose was a remarkable friend, a great colleague, an enjoyable classmate, an interesting roommate, and a slightly messy, slightly scatterbrained, but always appreciated battle companion. That's what this was, and it was all that this will ever be. She would have to put her foot down on the matter.

"Um, Weiss? Mind slowing down a bit?" Ruby asked, breaking her thoughts. "I can't really- I can't really catch my breath- Eep!"

"Ruby!" Weiss gasped. She managed to catch her, just in time before she fell head-first into the dirt.

"Uh… Thanks." Ruby grinned and her smile was an inch away from her face.

"Don't mention it," mumbled Weiss, pushing Ruby out of her arms as soon as she regained her balance. "You know, for someone whose semblance is supposed to be speed, you're surprisingly slow."

"Hey, I'm just tired, okay?" Ruby said a bit witheringly. "I've been walking around a swamp for an hour, you know, talking to myself."

"Sorry." Weiss knew that her partner's anger was somewhat justified. "I'm just- I'm a bit distracted."

"Yeah, I've noticed." Ruby tilted her head. "Are you okay? Is something wrong? Did you want to talk about it?"

"Uh... No. No, I don't think talking about it would help much," Weiss said after a swallow. "I think we could use a break, actually. Let's head back and regroup."

Weiss glanced over to see if she would be pleased with this casually blatant lie, but Ruby acted as though she didn't mind.

"Okay?" Ruby shrugged as she pulled out her scroll. "If you say so."

Weiss watched in relief as Ruby called for reinforcement. Another familiar face would do well to unload her burdens.

Yang, however, didn't seem to be answering. Confused, Ruby tried again, this time waiting longer for the connection to last. A low buzzing sound filled the air as they listened. It came from a place not too far from the lake.

"Uh… Yang?" Ruby shouted into the fog. "Are you there?"

They peered uneasily through the bleak marshlands and twisted trunks of trees. Nothing moved but the thick streamers of mist. Ruby ventured first into the grounds, and once she returned, she carried something in her hands. It was scratched and half-covered with mud.

"That's Yang's scroll, isn't it?" Weiss asked to confirm. "She must have dropped it by accident."

"Maybe... But Blake hasn't been replying to my messages either." Ruby frowned. "Do you think they might be in trouble?"

"I'm sure they're both fine," Weiss said before either of them had a chance to fret. "They might already be back at the village by now. Or they could be at that local pub the man was talking about earlier. Knowing Yang, she would have managed to drag Blake along with her."

"Yeah." Her partner appeared mildly conflicted. "I mean, yeah, you're probably right."

Ruby gave her a tiny grin, which she grudgingly returned, and they started making their way up the miry paths.

The fog grew thicker as the sun began to set, but they hadn't strayed too far from the designated trail. Soon enough, Weiss could hear the rambunctious crowd of voices fill the air. In the distance, she could make out a few dim yellow lights.

A large log cabin stood at the foot of the woods. It was old, with a few flickering lamps chipped along the sides. The door creaked as they entered. Weiss took the first step, breathing in a fresh scent of dry oak and hard liquor. From inside the tavern was surprisingly cozy, with a warm fur-pelted rug decorating the floor and a gigantic warm flame crackling in the center fireplace.

"Let's try the front counter," suggested Weiss. Two people stood behind the bar: an old man, wiping a pint glass with a rag, and a young boy, looking to be slightly older than herself.

"Hi, sorry, but did my sister walk in here by any chance?" Ruby shook her head, realizing that she was being silly. "Uh, my sister- she's blonde, and she's probably with another girl, um, someone dark and mysterious, with two cat ears on her head?"

"No, I don't think I've seen anyone like that," said the old man, his eyes never leaving the dirty glass he was cleaning.

"Oh." Ruby sighed, her shoulders sagging by an inch. "Okay, thanks anyway."

"Is there a problem?" The boy asked this time, obviously much more eager to help. "Did you lose a couple of your friends?"

Weiss stiffened, recognizing that spark of interest in his eyes. Ruby, however, was a little under-experienced, to say the least.

"Well, technically we didn't lose them." Ruby grinned sheepishly. "We just don't know where they are."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said, his voice almost unduly sympathetic. "Are you girls here on vacation?"

"Does it look like we are?" Weiss retorted, wearing a thoroughly caustic expression.

"Uh, we're here on business," Ruby replied instead. "Or, training more like. We're the-"

"The huntresses from Beacon Academy," he finished her sentence. "Ah, I should have known from that wicked scythe you're carrying."

He pointed at Crescent Rose, which Ruby immediately retracted and cradled in her arms.

"Thanks!" Ruby beamed. "It's also a high impact sniper rifle."

"So... It's a gun?"

"Gun-slash-scythe," Weiss cut in.

"That's cool," he said lazily. Weiss had a sense that he knew nothing about weapons, and hardly cared for the trade at all. But he seemed annoyingly determined as he leaned his body over the bar. "Well, anyways, if you girls are just out here on a rescue mission, do you have a place to stay at or...?"

"We do," she snapped, as diplomatically as possible. Weiss could feel herself getting irrationally angry but couldn't quite stop it.

"We do?" Ruby looked startled by the news.

"Yes. No, I mean... Well, the point is-" There was a long pause before Weiss could speak properly. "If Yang and Blake aren't here, maybe we should go back and try searching the rest of the village."

"Okay?" Ruby nodded after a second. "All right. Let's try that."

"Oh. I can show you around if you want?" The boy bounded forward, pointing to himself as he volunteered for the task.

Weiss resisted the urge to throttle him, as Ruby scratched her head.

"Um, really?" Ruby seemed rather taken aback by the offer, but like always, she could never help but be polite. "Uh... Okay, I guess? That would be great, thanks!"

"Sure. After my shift ends though," he winked, "and until then, here are two drinks for two beautiful ladies... On the house."

Weiss shot him a quelling glare and he hurried away, not forgetting to give Ruby one last smile of attempted charisma.

"Wow. That was pretty nice of him." Ruby tapped the glass, watching a few bubbles float up to the surface. "But should I have told him I'm underage?"

"I doubt that would have made a difference," Weiss said in a sulky manner. "He was interested in you."

"Uh... He was... Uh... What?" Ruby gaped at her. "He was what?"

"He was interested in you," said Weiss again, feeling even more peeved. "Hence, the free drinks."

There was a short pause, as the small huntress stared at her, completely still as a statue.

"Nah!" Ruby snorted, sounding defensive and carefree. "No way! You're crazy."

Weiss breathed with a winded laugh, not knowing whether she should be amused or annoyed by Ruby's modest reaction. She most certainly wasn't relieved or anything- that would be simply ridiculous and petty.

"Why not?" Weiss shrugged, without giving it a second thought. "You're quite a catch if you haven't noticed it yourself."

"Uh, no... I haven't." Ruby blinked in confusion. "But thanks?"

"I didn't exactly say you were a catch," rushed Weiss, realizing the enormity of what she had just said. "I mean- You are. You are a definite catch, but I was just voicing a possible opinion of another, I wasn't actually stating that I think that you may be a catch or not."

"Okay, Weiss." Ruby wrinkled her nose. "Now I don't know if I should be flattered or concerned anymore."

"Neither." Weiss shuddered. "Let's just move past what I said."

"Seriously?" Ruby raised her eyebrows. "You're acting really, really weird right now."

"Am I?" Weiss muttered, vaguely concerned.

"Yeah, you're acting really, really, really weird," Ruby repeated.

"Yes," Weiss sighed. "I know."

"And you're sure you don't want to talk about it?" Ruby offered again, with excessive naivete.

"I don't know if I can," she replied honestly, and there was silence again.

"Weiss." Ruby's voice softened here. "What's up?"

"Uh… Well, that's an interesting question, Ruby," she answered in a conveniently convoluted manner. "I think there are about a million different answers I can give to that very interesting question."

"Yeah, and would you care to venture one?" Ruby didn't so much as blink. Her resolve was much too strong.

It was a strange sensation but part of her wished it would last. When their eyes met, Weiss felt herself growing pale. She found that she couldn't look directly into that questioning gaze. After all, it was an act of kindness, not a declaration of love. It felt tremendous like it was capable of swallowing her entire being. 

Weiss opened her mouth, finally, when she couldn't stand to hold it in any longer.

"Ruby," she began tentatively. "We've been partners for at least two years now."

"Yeah, I know." Ruby nodded, looking at her like she was being stupid on purpose.

"Well, some people would say that..." Weiss took in a large breath. "You see, in most cultures, when two people are together for a long period of time, if you could call two years a long period of time, there are moments when, uh, things begin to change, and relationships, overtime, can become redefined."

"Uh..." Ruby stared at her, obviously confused. "Are you sure you're speaking English?"

"Let me rephrase that." Weiss cleared her throat. "Ruby, I-"

"Wait. Hold that thought," she said, her face turning suddenly serious.

Weiss felt the sudden onset of dread, her mind immediately skipping to the worst possible conclusion: Oh no. Oh no, Ruby had noticed, hadn't she? No, argued Weiss, she would take it all back. She was having a mild stroke! A vicious fever! None of it was true at all! Not a single spoken word of-

"I have to go to the bathroom."

There was a moment of pitiful silence.

Someone could have punched her on the nose, and Weiss would still not have noticed.

"...Go ahead," she said through gritted teeth, decidedly irritated. "I'll wait here."

 

* * *

 

Her senses came back slowly, beginning with a dull drumming at the back of her head. There was a distant murmur, hovering above her like a strange echo. Blake tightened her eyes, wiggling her ears to catch the sound. Her nose unplugged and a waft of musty air came coursing through.

"Hello? Earth to Blake? Blake, come on! Wake up!"

There was a sharp tug on the front of her robes. She let out a low groan, feeling her body shake with a few bruises.

"Blake!"

She opened her bleary eyes and stared up at a rather concerned looking Yang. Her partner's face hovered over her own, peering down at her. Their eyes met for a brief second, each wandering in a pool of confusion and worry.

It took a moment for Blake to fully gather her thoughts. The walls surrounding her were spinning, and they seemed to be half-sunken in darkness. With effort, she blinked a couple more times, coming to the slow but inevitable conclusion that Yang was lying on top of her.

Blake felt the heat rise inside her lungs, feeling the sweaty, moist surface of Yang's skin rubbing against her own. Their breaths matched in rhythm, chests nearly touching, legs entangled together – Yang was bending over her, closing in, as if she were almost about to…

"What- Yang!" Blake snapped, reacting before she could help herself.

"Ow!" Yang hissed as she moved away. "Geez, Blake! That hurt!"

Moaning, Yang rubbed the side of her cheek. "I was only checking to see if you were still breathing or not."

"Oh... Right," Blake murmured. "Sorry. I just thought you were, um, you were about to..."

"About to what?" Yang half-smirked, daring Blake to finish her thoughts.

"Nothing. It's nothing," she excused herself quickly, mortified by her own imagination.

"Relax, Blake," said Yang, laughing, though she looked to be a bit flushed herself. "I would never try anything on you while you're unconscious! Just only when you're awake."

"How considerate of you," Blake said wryly, regaining her composure as Yang winked. She tried to peek around, but her vision hadn't completely returned. The mucky water from the swamp continued to sting the corners of her eyes. "What about you? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks to you." Yang smiled warmly. "I appreciate it, really. I know how much cats hate water."

"Yang, this is so not the time." Blake groaned, rubbing the stiff side of her neck. "Where are we?"

"Um…"

Yang seemed to take this moment to finally look around.

They had somehow wound up in a deep chamber of an underground cave. The sight before them was not at all appealing. Violent torrents of water had managed to save them for the time being, but now they found themselves stranded on a hard stony island with nothing but green murky waters standing in their way. Small, loose stones littered the ground on which they stood.

Their shadows were engulfed by an impenetrable shade of black. The only source of light was an eerie green glow being emitted from the lake's surface. It was dank and the only sound, besides their own voices, was the rhythmic drips of water. There was no end to the lagoon; it extended from the edgy stones underneath their boots, stretching all the way towards the unfathomable darkness.

"Oh man…" Yang gulped. "Weiss is going to kill me."

Blake couldn't help but agree.

"Do you have your scroll with you?" Yang asked, frisking herself as she did so. "I can't find mine. I must have dropped it in the water somewhere."

"Hold on," said Blake, checking her own pockets in reply. Fortunately, there was something heavy in the back of her pants. When she pulled out her scroll, however, it was already soaking wet.

"Any chance it'll still work?" Yang asked, almost jokingly.

"I wouldn't count on it." Blake sighed, trying a couple buttons as the screen remained unresponsive.

"Well, what do we do now?" she pondered, rubbing at her jaw. "Should we just try calling for help?"

"I don't think anyone would hear us from here."

"Yeah..." Yang conceded rather quickly. "And I'll bet swimming is out of the question..."

"Right," Blake drawled, answering with an exasperated scoff. In her opinion, there were better ways to die than drowning, being eaten alive by a swarm of hungry aquatic Grimm.

After a while, Yang sighed as well. She turned around, deciding to explore the opposing side of the cave, which blocked their exit either way. Her hand fumbled along the jagged and uneven stone walls as if trying to search for a hidden exit. A small crevice did exist to their right, but it was barely big enough for a young child to squeeze through.

"So I guess we're kind of stuck here," said Yang grimly, appearing to have finally grasped the severity of their situation. She punted one of the stray stones in frustration. It flew several meters into the air before plunging into the distant waters. She winced afterward, wobbling on her knees before standing awkwardly in the dark.

"Yang." Blake frowned as she saw. "Why are you limping?"

"Uh… It's nothing."

"It's not nothing. You're bleeding," she noticed quite quickly.

"Oh. Am I?" Yang scratched her chin, acting like she hadn't been aware of it herself. "I swear, I didn't even notice."

There was a definite tear right above her knee, on the outside of Yang's left thigh. A square inch of skin was showing, but most of the blood had thankfully already clotted and dried. There was, however, a strange pattern that caught Blake's attention. Several red spots were aligned in two long elliptical lines. Blake traced the pattern with her fingers, recognizing the puncture wounds as evidence for malformed teeth.

"It looks like the Grimm did get you," she gathered in the end. "But it doesn't seem too bad. Let me bandage it though, in case it gets infected."

She was beginning to rip off a piece of fabric when Yang stopped her. "Really, Blake. It's just a little scratch. No big deal! Don't worry about it."

This wasn't very convincing, as Yang still stood a bit slanted, her leg wavering in an unnaturally hitched position. Blake raised her eyebrows, knowing very well that Yang would be stating she was fine, even if she was in a serious spot of mortal peril.

"Yang, please," she sighed, grabbing her partner by the arm. "Just stay still."

Blake tried her best to sound concerned. The two exchanged a short, but intense glare, and it was (for once) Yang's turn to look away, hiding behind an embarrassed cough.

Yang didn't fight her much after that. Having said that, she did wince a few times, whenever Blake attempted to clean the wound. Once the fabric was tightly wrapped around her leg, Yang let out a long breath of relief.

"Thanks, Blake." Yang gave her a tired smile. "You take such good care of me."

Blake nodded, though she was not entirely convinced that she had helped. There was something still "off" about Yang. Maybe it had been her partner's increasingly unnatural pallor, or the fact that she hadn't made any pun-related jokes for the past five minutes, or maybe…

"Are you sure you're okay?" Blake asked again as she narrowed down her suspicions. "You're, um, you're shaking."

"I'm fine," said Yang, wheeling around as she tried to give a good reason. "I'm just a bit cold, that's all."

"I thought you never got cold," Blake decided to say, reminded of the time Yang had gone outside on a cold Winter morning, with nothing but her socks and her thin summer pajamas on.

"Okay, well, you know what they say..." Yang scrunched up her face, trying to think of something witty to say. Instead, her teeth began to clatter. "T-There's a first time for everything, right?"

Blake didn't answer, looking uneasily at Yang, whose shivers grew worse by the minute. She didn't feel cold at all herself, especially considering how the swamp was extra humid and moist. In fact, the clothes around her felt wet and sticky, like sweat.

"I think you might have caught the flu," Blake said, realizing their situation didn't seem to be getting any better. "Here. Try taking your clothes off."

"W-Woah there, Blake!" Yang flinched, flying a few meters back when Blake reached for her shoulders. "What are you doing? We haven't even had our first kiss yet!"

"I'm just trying to help you dry off!" she retorted, turning red at the very idea.

Yang stared at her blankly. Blake shook her head in disbelief, allowing the apprehension to pass on its own. After a while, Yang gave her a small, hasty smile. Suddenly obedient, she shed off her brown leather jacket and passed it to her. To avoid complications, Blake didn't ask for any more than that.

"It's been two years, Yang. You have got to stop turning every scenario into something inappropriate..." Blake grumbled, taking her jacket and squeezing the water out.

"Sorry," Yang said with a teasing grin. "Y-You're just adorable when you're mad."

"I am not," Blake said under her breath. She didn't know what to think. Yang never gave her much space to think.

She knew that certain people had various difficulties with communication, not being able to express enough affections to present their line of interest. With Yang, she had the opposite problem. There was an excess of it, really, and Blake often had trouble deciphering how much of her partner's actions were sincere and how much of it was just for her own twisted sense of enjoyment.

"Here," she said gruffly, handing the jacket back to its owner.

"T-Thanks," said Yang as she wore it again. Blake watched quietly, her mind racing again as she tried to keep her partner from ironically freezing to death.

"Um, did you- Do you want me to…?" Blake paused, knowing that she would never hear the end of this.

"W-What did you say?" Yang asked, appearing almost sad as she huddled in a corner, her arms hugging around her knees.

"Just…" Blake sighed in defeat. "Just don't make a big deal out of this."

And before Yang had any chance to speak, or wink, or slip in another unsuitable joke, Blake scooted over as quickly as possible, squeezing herself in between Yang's arms and hugging her close.

Blake's ears folded down, part in embarrassment as she felt Yang grow rigid in turn. For a second, even her violent quivers altogether ceased. Then, she allowed for her breaths to slow, in slight relief as Yang's body slowly began to ease into hers.

"You know..." Yang seemed to finally recover enough to say. "I heard this works better when we're both naked."

Blake preferred not to respond. She doesn't smile, for the record.


	3. Chapter 3

Yang felt the coldness leave as quickly as it came.

She still held onto Blake though, much tighter than she probably should have. There was a quiet grunt, and Yang giggled, feeling her ears twitch as she rested her chin on top of Blake's head.

"Yang?" Blake's voice was a little breathless, even to her own ears. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Mph."

"If you are, then maybe we should…" Blake tried to suggest, but her words were effectively silenced, cut off as Yang squeezed her even more.

Yang smiled playfully, feeling oddly satisfied as she felt the heat rise in Blake's chest. She'd been listening to the sound of her heart, counting each erratic beat. She had memorized it, to be exact.

"Maybe we should try coming up with an actual plan," Blake finished unevenly, trying hard to be reasonable against all odds. It was a talent of hers, really.

"Unless, of course, you would prefer to stay this way?" Blake asked as a slow afterthought. There was a small bit of longing in her eyes, like blown embers in the dark. Yang wasn't sure whose it belonged to. Consequently, she didn't answer, delighting herself with the new conundrum.

"Yang," sighed Blake, realizing how difficult of a job it was to be taking care of someone else. "I need you to speak in full sentences now."

"Says the queen of the monosyllable," Yang replied.

"Well, I think I may have been dethroned," Blake drawled.

"Then I'll take it," accepted Yang, with a wink, "but only if it comes with a big golden crown."

Blake rolled her eyes, appearing terribly unimpressed. "You just can't help yourself. Can you?"

"I'm very consistent that way." Yang nodded. "It's one of my lesser known charms."

She looked quickly at Blake and suppressed a grin, knowing that her partner would be torn between seeming angry and amused. They exchanged a lively glance, the color in their eyes never dimming for a second. Yang resisted even the urge to blink, breathing in and out as she held onto their gaze. Her face twisted into a peevish smile.

It was a vague concern of hers. Yang didn't remember ever feeling this needy, almost as if she were craving for a certain connection between the two. In any other circumstances, she would have kept herself from behaving so childishly. But her blood chilled, her veins ran thin even at the mere thought of being apart.

"Blake, I-"

"Yang." But Blake interrupted her, squirming uncomfortably on the spot. "We should really… You know…"

There was a definite edge to her voice. Yang had noticed it before and knew better than to ignore it again. With great reluctance, she loosened her grip, allowing for Blake to pull back an inch and stare at her face. She didn't relinquish everything though, her hands still stubbornly remained around Blake's waist.

"There," said Yang, whining as much as she dared. "You happy?"

"Extremely," Blake deadpanned, though she appeared less so when she noticed Yang's complexion. "Now, how are you feeling?"

"Never been better," she mumbled in return, her words aflame with dishonesty.

In truth, she hadn't felt like herself ever since she woke up inside the cave. It had taken much effort on her part, pretending as though she was perfectly fine, in case of setting off another wave of panic with Blake. But it seemed as though nothing ever got past her partner.

Yang stepped back, in feeble shock, as Blake's cold hand reached for her forehead.

"I don't understand," said Blake, biting her lip as she felt the unforeseen fever. "You were freezing just a moment ago."

"It must be your fault," Yang replied, without having to think at all. "Since you're so incredibly hot."

The instant she said it, Yang knew she had pushed it too far.

Blake's face hardened if it were even possible at this point. "Yang, this is serious-"

"I know. I swear, I wasn't trying to flirt," she said quickly. "At least, I didn't mean to. I mean, I was thinking it but I wasn't going to say it. Some things should never be said out loud, you know what I mean?"

"No." Blake frowned. "Do you?"

"Not really." Yang groaned, holding the weight of her head in her hands. "Sorry, I'm just feeling a bit queasy right now, and you're just really good at distracting me from that."

This was a rather poor explanation and it didn't help with the situation at all. Even Yang, herself, knew that now was not an appropriate time for a joke. And she hadn't exactly been planning on being witty. No, the words had simply slipped out of her, as if a filter no longer existed between her mouth and her stupid, aching brain.

"I didn't mean that either," she added, and then quickly clamped her mouth shut again. It seemed to be the wisest choice.

Yang closed her eyes for a moment, trying to rest them as the world began to spin. Her headache was getting worse, but there was something else, a strangely unearthly feeling rising from the tip of her toes. It was unsettling, like a tangible fog crawling up from underneath her skin.

"Yang," a voice purred.

It was so sudden of a change.

She blinked. She stared.

Blake was wearing an unnaturally bright smile. Even with nothing but the greenish shimmer of the lake, there was a mesmerizing twinkle in her eyes. She glowed in the softest, warmest shade of color.

Yang shook her head, quiet for a bit, transfixed as Blake came in and out of focus. A new voice overlapped with the other.

"Yang, what's wrong?"

This Blake was entirely different. She was frowning, and she was quite noticeably pale. Yang followed the gesture, scrunching up her eyebrows with double the confusion. She could have sworn that Blake had been happy just a while ago. Yang would have remembered if she had done something to upset her.

Her vision began to flicker, and with each second came a gaping hole of nothingness.

After a minute of silence, Blake would be smiling again. Then a second later, she would be leaning towards her, her face dark with wild concern.

The same tingling feeling – it was riding up her spine now. It wrapped itself around her neck, like the touch of a slithering snake.

Then, suddenly, the ringing in her head stopped altogether. There was a thunderous silence like something had flown by and wiped every thought, every instinct out of her mind.

The pain vanished in an instant. It was a momentous blur. It made her feel heavenly. She was floating on a drifting cloud. She forgot fear. She forgot caution.

But this feeling, it was more unpleasant than anything she'd ever experienced before in her life. She had broken bones before, sure, she had felt the pain of torn muscles and bruises, but this-this didn't feel like an injury at all. And before she could help it, before she could make out any apologies or forewarning, Yang felt her consciousness slip once more.

She was awake. She could feel her mouth opening to speak, but she heard nothing resembling the sound of her own voice.

 

* * *

 

Ruby had approximately three minutes and twenty-one seconds to think about the current situation.

First and foremost, Weiss was acting weird.

This wasn't the "good" sort of "weird" either, not like the nice little gestures Weiss would show her once in a while.

No, Weiss was acting unusual, long before Ruby had actually done something wrong. Unless Ruby had somehow done something wrong without realizing it, which granted by her short attention span was always a possibility.

Ruby knew it had something to do with her. Weiss never had a problem with Yang or Blake in the room. She always acted perfectly calm and civil around _them_.

The first time Ruby noticed this was during the end of their last semester. The team was bidding each other farewell for the upcoming summer vacation. Blake didn't seem to have a clear destination in mind, quickly prompting Yang to invite her over to stay with them in Patch.

Ruby, deciding to be a good team leader, had mirrored her sister's actions and made the exact same offer to Weiss, who always appeared reluctant to return to Atlas anyway.

This harmless question had left Weiss in a flurry of stutters and several indecipherable hand gestures and coughs. At the end of which, Weiss politely declined her offer, saying that she would be astronomically busy over the break, training with her older sister, Winter. Blake had declined as well, clearly not wishing to impose, and likely intimidated by Yang's much too eager tone of voice.

But that hadn't been the point. The point had been the look on Weiss's face at the time – how flustered she had become, how her cheeks turned dark, like the color of Ruby's cape, or a bush of roses, or anything else that came in the shade of red.

Once they were back at Beacon for their second semester, Weiss started to act a little strange.

She'd be irresistibly charming and considerate for one day, bringing Ruby a batch of freshly baked cookies, then completely disappear on her for the next. She would offer to let Ruby copy her notes, then yell at her for five days straight about not following a rigorous study schedule. She would take care of her, bring her warm soup when she was bedridden with a cold, then act as if she hadn't fallen asleep by her side, holding her hand as they lay dangerously cramped on Ruby's hammock.

Also, on top of everything else, Weiss was beginning to stare.

She would stare at her often, much like how Yang would steal a couple of glances at Blake during breakfast or lunch. If Weiss always made fun of her sister, for being so transparent with her affections towards Blake, then how on earth was Ruby supposed to interpret the smiles she would receive, whenever Weiss assumed she wasn't paying attention?

There was a spark there.

And it was weird. It was definitely weird.

So, Ruby pretended not to notice in the beginning, allowing Weiss to work things out herself. Then, it started to reach a level of severity that even Ruby couldn't ignore. Weiss would love to think that she was being discreet, getting away with whatever it is that was troubling her. But Ruby had her trapped in a corner. And now, finally, with this recent trip, she had gathered enough pieces of evidence to confront her stubborn partner. It would be a glorious moment, indeed. Because not even Weiss, the master dodger of questions, could deny these facts to be true.

She had proof, sure, but she needed a reason of some sort.

Weiss had been prepared to tell it, perhaps, if Ruby hadn't taken that extra-large cup of coffee before their flight to Mistral.

She reprimanded herself in the mirror, sighing as she turned on the tab to wash her hands. Her own speculations only went so far. She knew better than to get too creative with her theories. But then again…

"You're quite a catch," Weiss had said, "if you haven't noticed it yourself."

Ruby blinked, her cheeks growing warm at the thought. That was a compliment if she ever heard one coming from the Ice Queen herself. But really, there was no reason for Ruby to feel so giddy about it or anything! There was nothing to read there. No subtext. No cues.

They were just friends, right? Yeah. Probably.

Ruby frowned, not liking where her mind trailed from there. Perhaps, in some way, her interruption of Weiss's speech had nothing to do with her bladder at all. Perhaps, she simply didn't want to hear the truth, whatever it may be, whether or not it would answer the questions she feared too greatly to ask.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. Ruby cleared her throat and wiped her hands on her skirt to dry. Hoping that it wasn't Weiss coming to check up on her, she opened the door, realizing that she had been taking way too long with her ruminations.

Fortunately or not, it was the young man from the counter. He looked just as pleasantly surprised as before by her appearance.

"Hi?" she greeted him in confusion. "Sorry, but isn't this the girl's bathroom?"

"There's only one bathroom, actually," he said, grinning as he pointed to the sign on the door.

"Oh." Ruby, feeling sheepish, stepped out of the way. "Uh, then I guess it's all yours."

The man nodded, laughing at her poor attempt to chitchat. "I'll see you back at the bar then," he said coolly.

"Yeah." Ruby sighed, her mind still muddled with thoughts of Weiss. "Sure."

She had taken barely ten steps forward when an explosion erupted from behind her. She swung around on her heels and found the shack to be shaking; a large hole had burst through its shabby ceiling. There was another booming blast, a rushing stream of water. A loud steely clang followed, and so did a high-pitched pain-streaked scream.

Ruby grabbed the handle at once and jiggled it harshly. The door was jammed, or locked by the looks of it.

"Hey!" Ruby pounded with her fists. "Are you okay in there?"

This time, there was no response, simply the gushing sound of water. Taking a step back, she activated Crescent Rose, feeling safer once she was armed. She hesitated for a moment, with one foot on the door, ready to kick it down by force if she had to.

"I'm coming in!" she announced herself beforehand, just again to be sure.

The door came crashing down in an instant, her thick boots breaking through the weakened structure of its wooden panels.

Thankfully, the young man was fully dressed. The bathroom, however, was half-destroyed, the tiles flooded with water, sprinkled by parts of debris and shards of broken glass. The sink was gone, replaced by an empty space in the ground; an open pipe stood erect from its center, spewing water out like a fountain.

"Oh, geez! Are you okay?" she asked, trying to shake him awake. He moaned and rolled over onto his back, but otherwise made no other effort to move.

There was a small puddle of blood collecting underneath his arm. She cranked her head, peering over his shoulder to get a better glance. His wound was easy to discern. A set of fresh teeth marks were imprinted across his wrist in bright red.

If that was the mark it left behind, Ruby processed, then where was the Grimm?

She held her breath and listened. For a minute all was still, uncannily still. Then she heard it – the violent clattering of teeth coming from behind.

Swish!

A large black shadow whizzed across her face. It nearly nicked the tip of her right ear as she turned. But before Ruby could punch another hole in the wall, the Grimm was already lying defeated on the floor, twitching with its body sliced perfectly in half. This one was much larger than the first one they had found in the swamps. It was thin, but as long as her own arm.

With one last snap of its jaws, the fish disintegrated, remaining black dust fading away into the void.

"Whoa!" Ruby stepped back, looking up at the door. "Weiss! When did you get here?"

"I leave you alone for five minutes," Weiss huffed with a grim expression, "and this happens."

"So, I may have broken down the door." Ruby blew hair out of her face with an angry puff. "But the rest was not me, okay?"

"Well, are you hurt?" Weiss asked instead. "What happened in here?"

"I think so," Ruby sighed, kneeling beside him again as she put pressure on his wounds. "I came in here and everything was a mess. And then that Grimm came out of nowhere, which you took care of. Oh, and thanks, by the way."

"No problem," Weiss grumbled as she stopped to take a breath. "The drains here must be linked to the village's sewage system and the lake… Yang was right. This is not going to be a pleasant trip for any of us."

"If it helps, I don't think this one swam out of the toilet," Ruby pointed out. "It probably came up from that pipe over there and broke through the sink and-"

She stopped herself, catching the look on her Weiss's face.

"If!" Ruby added, rolling her eyes. "I said  _if_  it helps."

"It really doesn't," Weiss sighed, hardly believing her ears.

"You're the one who said we should be prepared for anything that comes our way," Ruby started, but before Weiss could respond they both heard a long deep groan.

The man on the ground had begun to mumble and shiver, his blood still coloring the water pooling around their feet.

"Oh, right! Sorry!" Ruby said, blabbering an apology. "Are you okay? Weiss, is he going to be okay?"

"Probably," Weiss muttered darkly. "Let's take him to a doctor first. We'll have to figure things out from there."

 

* * *

 

Yang being silent always seemed so appealing in theory. In practice, however, there was nothing more terrifying.

They had stopped talking, ever since Yang fumbled out a few words that made absolutely no sense. Now, she sat there, completely unresponsive.

"Yang?" Blake called out again, nearly yelling. "Yang, can you hear me? Yang!"

"…Blake, is that you?" Yang murmured without opening her eyes. She sounded confused as if the screams only just reminded her that she wasn't alone.

"Yes," Blake answered, trying to act calm. "It's me. I'm here. Talk to me."

Yang finally looked at her. And by looked, Blake meant looked directly through her. Her pupils moved around lazily, unfocused. Then, her eyes stared at something overhead. And before Blake had a bit to wonder why, Yang's hands were already stretching out.

"W-What are you doing?" Blake said a second too late as Yang began to smile fanatically. Her fingers curled, rolling around the stem of Blake's ears.

Blake's knees would have buckled if she wasn't already kneeling on the ground. It was electric. An inexpressible shiver ran through her, and her body shook, quivering under the skills of Yang's warm delicate hands. For a moment, she didn't seem to have a voice to disagree.

"No more bow. I like that about you." Yang grinned, lost in some kind of a dream but enjoying it, oblivious to her partner's expression of priceless horror. "Your ears. They're so soft."

"Yang-" Blake nearly choked, finding herself in a scene she would have never imagined. Her natural instinct was fighting to take over, roaring tremendously within her chest.

"Stop!" She finally managed to get a word in, gasping as she escaped from her partner's hold.

"Aw... Come on." The disappointment in her voice was quite palpable. "Zwei always lets me pet him when I'm bored."

Blake scowled at the comment.

It was always easier to default to anger. As a faunus, she was used to it, but that didn't mean she would stand for being treated like anybody's pet, even if the said person was Yang.

But no, Blake frowned. Yang would know this was something way out of the line. Yang liked to have her fun, but never at the expense of somebody else's discomfort. And Yang, by far than anyone else, would know how uncomfortable Blake felt about somebody else touching her ears.

"Yang, are you okay?" she asked again. "You're not acting like your usual self."

Yang looked rather blank at this. She was beginning to lose confidence when Yang groaned, bending over as she wore an expression of distress.

"Ugh... Blake," Yang said in reply, crouching over and burying her face in her hands. "I think something's seriously wrong with me."

"What? What is it?" Blake asked frantically. "Does your head hurt? Is it your leg again?"

"No. But I think my eyes are broken," said Yang, quite dramatically.

"Can you not see anything?" Blake whispered, holding onto Yang's hand as she tried to rack her brains for a plausible explanation.

"I can see fine. That's the problem." Yang furrowed her eyebrows as if she were squinting at something in the dark. "When I close them, I shouldn't see anything at all. But I see your face, Blake. I see your face, looking down at me."

"And Blake," she continued to say, as Blake momentarily forgot how to breathe. Yang sat forward and smiled affectionately at her. "You're really pretty."

There was a definite psychotic glint to her words.

Then, Yang broke off into an unexpected fit of giggles. There was no real peril but Blake felt the urge to take a step back.

It had been a simple search and destroy mission, she thought grimly. So why did nothing ever go according to plan?


	4. Chapter 4

They had just left the cottage behind as a storm broke out from overhead.

It didn't feel like the usual rain, the rainfall so heavy it turned the neighboring dirt to mud. Water sluiced down upon them as a scent of freshly washed leaves and wet earth stung their noses.

Weiss stared up into the air, concern brewing as a crowd of grey clouds filled the sky. The rain showed no signs of stopping as rumbles of thunder began to echo from the mountains.

"We better hurry," Weiss ushered, adjusting the man's weight on her left shoulder. Ruby, who stood on the other side of him, nodded quietly.

It was harder to walk, carrying a grown man between the two of them. They had to walk slowly, but surely, avoiding holes and uneven edges of the field. The man had paled significantly, appearing sickly and bleak. Ruby looked at him every second he moaned, muttering a few words they didn't understand.

"What do you think's wrong with him?" Ruby asked nervously as they made it back to the village. The place was nearly empty, most people finding it sensible to take shelter from the rain.

"I don't know," Weiss grunted in reply, equally flummoxed. It didn't look like a serious injury, to be honest. "Maybe he just has a low tolerance for pain," she mumbled in a petty afterthought.

Ruby paused, growing slower in her steps as she stared at Weiss.

"Weiss, um... Can I ask you something?" Ruby tried again, this time with a much more anxious undertone.

For some reason, Weiss knew that her next question would have little to do with their mission.

"Go ahead," she replied, with a shameful attempt at nonchalance.

"So..." Ruby pursed her lips. "About before…"

"Yes?"

"What were you going to tell me?" Ruby asked as she stared down at her boots. "Before- Before, you know, you got interrupted."

"You mean before you interrupted me?"

"Yeah." Ruby grinned, before returning to a pensive mood. "What were you going to say?"

There was a pause, as Weiss was at a loss for words. She didn't think Ruby would be so serious with the matter. She didn't think Ruby would notice enough to care.

"I was going to say that," Weiss hesitated, feeling small. She never knew how little confidence she had in herself, a senseless panic rising in her chest as Ruby's eyes pierced into hers.

"I shouldn't have declined your invitation to visit your house this summer," she blurted out, the very first thought that came to her mind, which was a rather stupid decision on her part. Ruby stared at her in return, looking puzzled by the unexpected answer.

"Oh. Really?" Ruby blinked a few times as they walked ahead in drowned silence.

"I mean- It was rude to say no like that," Weiss went on, realizing she would have to continue with the story if she ever hoped to patch things up to normality. "I hope you didn't take it too personally."

"No, not at all." Ruby seemed to laugh at the very idea. "It's not like it was a big deal anyway. Yang wanted to invite Blake, so it would be weird if you weren't there."

"Of course." Weiss grimaced, trying to sound unaffected. "Because that is why you extended the invitation, correct? To make the numbers even?"

"Um... You mean I invited you because we're a team, right?" Now it was Ruby's turn to look slightly offended. "Because you're my partner and I wanted you there too?"

"But hypothetically speaking, if we weren't partners, would we have gotten along?" Weiss continued, suddenly invested in a question she never even thought about before.

"Well, yeah. Probably." Ruby shrugged. "We'd still both be at Beacon."

"Cardin and his team are also at Beacon," Weiss voiced out, "and you don't have a very high opinion of them."

"Sure," scoffed Ruby as she rolled her eyes. "But that's different! You're nothing like Cardin and his goons."

Weiss passed her a withering look. "You understand what I'm saying though. I wasn't exactly a saint to you when we first met."

Ruby crinkled her nose, a funny expression of amusement in her eyes as she remembered. "Well, to be fair, I'm not so great at making first impressions either."

"Sometimes I wonder just how different everything would be if I left you in that forest," Weiss continued, lowering her voice as if she couldn't decide whether she wanted to be heard or not. "What if I ended up partnering up with somebody else instead? What then?"

"Does it matter?" Ruby sighed, to which Weiss gave her a rather stern look. Ruby stared back at her nonetheless, smiling with a relish. "I like you, Weiss. I would have liked you, no matter what."

Weiss stopped there in the middle of the storm. It wasn't her fault, her feet just forgot how to function for a moment. She stood drunk on the idea, at how Ruby's attention was still aimed towards her, she could practically see the sincerity in her eyes.

They were interrupted, again, by the man. He moaned, and a sudden deadweight struggled against Weiss's shoulders.

"Oh! We're almost there," Ruby reassured him. The two shared a short look, with Weiss passing her a quick nod of understanding. Later, Ruby gestured, as the conversation adjourned.

They walked the rest of the fifty feet in silence. Weiss was immensely relieved once she saw the sign to the village hospital. It was small, with yellowish-white walls specked with grayish spots along the entrance.

They knocked once, twice more when unanswered, and the door swung open with haste.

It was an older man, with dark hair and a thinning forehead. He was wearing a pair of thick coke-bottle glasses, reflecting two cartoonish large eyes. He wore a doctor's coat, at least, and was smart enough to figure out what had happened right away.

He ushered them in, helping them carry the injured man onto an empty hospital bed.

"Was it the Grimm?" The doctor asked, and Weiss nodded dismally in return. His face paled quite considerably. "That's the fifth victim this week."

"He's been like this for a while now. Is he going to be okay?" Ruby asked, watching anxiously as the doctor sprung out his stupor, running around here and there as he retrieved his box of supplies.

He pulled out a syringe, flicking the needle with a clear greenish liquid.

"What's that?" Ruby asked again, her eyes widening. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sedating him," the doctor said calmly, sinking the needle deep into his arm without a second thought. Ruby and Weiss shared a confused look, watching the young man, who was still fast asleep.

"He seems stable enough," Weiss said in a skeptical manner. "Why would you need to do that?"

"Oh, well, as you know, these grimm, they have a very specific type of venom," he explained half-heartedly. "It's safer for the patient to be unconscious than to-"

"What venom?" Ruby gasped, her eyes widening in shock. "They're venomous?"

The doctor turned towards her, similarly thunderstruck. "You mean you didn't know?"

"No! Of course we didn't know!" Ruby said with a rather panicky voice. "Is this the face of someone who knew?"

"How lethal is this venom?" Weiss quickly asked as the doctor went back to bandaging the man's wounds.

The doctor shook his head. "It's not enough to be life-threatening. It's treatable. At least, as long as it's not in large dosages."

"So what happens when you're bitten?"

"Mostly, headaches, fevers, and some fatigue," he answered as he pulled out a different syringe. "If serious, the patient may also experience hallucinations and a temporary loss of self-control."

"…Well, that's not good," said Ruby, to put it mildly.

"He's going to be fine though, I've given him an antidote. You brought him in before anything could happen. I thank you for that." The doctor sighed as he stood up from his stool. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make a few calls. I'll be right back…"

He readjusted his coat, taking a few books from his desk. After a short courteous bow, he exited through the backdoor. As soon as the man left, Ruby began to pace around the room.

"What about Blake and Yang?" Ruby pointed out in a worried tone. "They don't know about this and we have no way of warning them."

"For heaven's sake," Weiss huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Where could they have gone?"

"I think we should head back to the swamps," Ruby went on with a look of horror. "I mean, maybe they were attacked, and they were bitten, or something happened to them and now they're still out there in the rain because they're lost and hurt and caught in a storm-!"

"Ruby, sit down," Weiss tried to insist. "It's going to be okay."

"They're missing, Weiss!" Ruby retorted. "Blake's missing. Yang is missing. She's missing!"

"Ruby, listen to me," Weiss said again with force, grabbing Ruby by the shoulders. "This is Yang we're talking about. Your sister."

"Thank you, Weiss," groaned Ruby, "for restating the obvious."

"I meant that she's strong," Weiss added, rolling her eyes. "She's stubborn, just like you, so she won't go down without a fight. And I trust Blake to have kept her from doing anything too hazardous."

Ruby huffed, but of course, she'd have to agree with that.

"Trust me," Weiss said without a doubt. "We'll find them."

"We'll find them," Ruby repeated her words like a mantra. Her eyes seemed less troubled though, and she was starting to smile again as she looked at Weiss, whose hands were still on Ruby's shoulders.

"So, in regards to the plan…" Weiss attempted to change the subject, but her voice died along the way as the silence swelled.

"Hey, Weiss," Ruby began with a strangely absent smile. "Are we friends?"

"I thought we already established that," she replied wryly.

"I mean, are we  _just_  friends?" Ruby said again softly, acting as though she knew more of Weiss's intentions than she knew herself.

Weiss repeated the question in her head, abruptly dizzy at the thought.

"What else would we be?" she answered, much too slowly. But something about what she said seemed to upset Ruby, for her smile vanished without a trace. 

Ruby nodded gravely, facing the door with a strange complexion.

"Should we get going then?" she suggested quietly.

"Yes," said Weiss, feeling her mouth run dry. "Yes, we should."

Was it her mistake? Ruby almost sounded...disappointed.

 

* * *

 

There was something loud and formidable echoing from the distance. Blake closed her eyes, focusing her ears toward the sound. She heard heavy rainfall and the roars of thunder.

She stared at the lake, which was no longer steady. It was breaking and rippling into all sorts of shapes, dancing wildly through the dark. She heard water, splashing at the edges of fallen rocks and stony crevices.

Blake picked up the coat she had left to dry on the ground. One of its sleeves had been soaked thoroughly, half-sunken in green murky waters. Her heart began to race.

"The water level's rising," whispered Blake as she faced Yang. "We need to get out of here, right now."

"Now?" Yang frowned, with her eyes barely focused. "But why would we want to go now?"

Yang looked oddly amused, mumbling something about the ocean and a beautiful honeymoon.

Blake attempted to control her nerves, swallowing down the worst of it as she fought to remain calm.

Yang's state hadn't improved over time. If at all possible, she seemed to be getting gradually worse. Blake had tried arguing. She had tried yelling. She had tried coaxing, and any method of flirting her partner would appreciate, but nothing had broken the spell.

Blake didn't know what the problem was, and it agonized her to feel so incredibly useless and alone. Had Yang been drowning for longer than she imagined? Had the water from the swamp seeped into her brain and somehow poisoned her mind? Or it could be her leg. Blood poisoning, she thought. She had read about it before, and the consequences of it were not trifling if left untreated.

She needed to get Yang out of here, no matter the costs. And if she couldn't figure out a solution soon, then they would both be trapped in this cave to drown.

"Listen to me, Yang," Blake said again, this time with a much more urgent tone. "We need to get back to Ruby and Weiss. They're never going to find us here, and if they don't find us, then we're…"

Blake shook her head at the thought. "We can't face the grimm here. Not in the water, it's impossible. But if we find a way out, then at least we'll have a fighting chance."

"You mean against the army of angry fish monsters?" Yang asked, after a long period of silence. Blake nodded quickly, thankful that her messages were finally getting through. Her hopes, though, were quickly dashed as Yang let out another harmless grin.

"Don't worry about it, Blake. I won't let anything hurt you."

This was possibly a very sweet thing to say, if not for the situation.

"Yang, if we stay here any longer we're going to drown!" Blake said her last words in a tired hiss. Yang looked startled by the change in her voice.

The storm never slowed down for their benefit. Blake could feel the water at the heels of her shoes.

"Please, Yang." Blake looked straight into Yang's dazed eyes. "I can't lose you like this. I don't know what's wrong, but there's nothing I can do for you here. I need you to pull through this. I  _need_  you. I can't do this on my own."

It took a few seconds, each one lasting as long as a century until, for a single instant, she saw the mist clear from Yang's visage. It was too quick of a change, nearly impossible to read if Blake hadn't been staring so intently. Then, the smile returned to Yang's lips. It was careful this time, almost sad and forlorn.

Blake felt her chest tighten as Yang staggered forward, her concerns finally reciprocated by a weak, understanding grip on her hand.

"I'm sorry," Yang said quietly as she stared, her hand never wavering. She sounded smaller somehow, and brittle. It was this, and much more, which Blake could not so readily understand.

"Can you walk?" Blake whispered, fearing what would happen if their hands ever did part ways.

Yang nodded, wobbling as she stood.

"I want you to stay close to me," Blake said, offering her shoulder to lean on. And to her surprise, Yang listened.

"I don't think I have a choice," she murmured, and then stumbled after two and a half steps. Blake caught her before she could hurt herself.

"How about I carry you instead?" Blake suggested, turning her back to Yang as she bent down her knees. "Think you can hold on to me for five more minutes?"

"Just five?" Yang chuckled weakly as she practically collapsed on top of her. "How about for eternity?"

"You're heavy," Blake tried to joke. "Be reasonable."

"I'm never reasonable," Yang mumbled, blinking with dull wet eyes. "Blake, I can't… I'm going to fall asleep."

"It's okay," Blake reassured her, hoping that her voice alone would be enough to keep her partner's spirit alive. "Stay with me, just for a little longer. Okay?"

"Okay. Okay, yeah, I can do that," Yang sighed happily. "Man, I am so glad I'm marrying you," she whispered lazily, her breath tickling the side of Blake's neck.

"Yeah..." Blake swallowed, not knowing what else to say. "Me too."

She took in a quivering breath, rethinking her own plan inside her head.

Could she even call it a proper plan? Blake wondered. It sounded closer to a suicide mission if she had to be frank. She had done this before, perhaps, to a lesser extent during their training, but being launched off a cliff was a much less perilous task than what she would have to do now.

But there was no other choice. _Yang_ was counting on her. Yang trusted her to do this, for god knows what reason.

"Hold on tight," ordered Blake. Her face was pale, but it showed no sign of indecision or fear. She walked towards the edge of the small island, farthest to which her two feet would carry her. The water sloshed underneath her boots, and for a moment, she saw a flash of teeth, and black shadows huddling in circles below the water.

She sucked in another breath, steadying Yang as well as her stance.

She moved back a couple of meters, granting herself a nice kick start. Then, Blake broke into a run, moving her legs as fast as she could. She leaped high above the black waves. She felt the wind in her hair as Yang pressed her body closer to her own. They descended, falling down, as quickly as they had jumped through the air.

One second.

Two seconds.

Blake kept her eyes locked on the surface of the lake. One tiny mistake, and they would both be dead. She had to coordinate this perfectly.

As soon as she felt the tip of her right foot break the water, Blake concentrated on her aura. Her semblance flared up at once, tired but active. Her shadow manifested for a short existence, leaving Blake with the chance to jump up again, taking off from where she had left a moment of her presence.

She sore up again, nearly reaching the top of the cave.

This would work. Blake's breath hitched, in disbelief at her own strategy.

One second. Two seconds.

A shadow after shadow. She lunged forward.

The island faded into the black abyss they had left behind. The water extended endlessly, as she imagined, far longer than she would have hoped.

More and more as they moved forward, Blake began to see that this had been a death sentence from the start.

There was no end in sight, and even with her night vision, all she could see were pillars of rocks and stones. The island was long gone now, and changing direction would prove difficult, even if she could find her way back somehow.

The moment her aura depleted, she would fall alongside Yang, and the grimm would take their bodies to the very bottom of the lake. She could practically hear their clattering teeth, rattling violently as if waiting for them to fall.

The ceiling grew lower, narrowing her vision as she went on.

A second.

Another shadow.

A second.

Another shadow.

She jumped, covering much less distance than before. She felt the exhaustion. She felt it in her aching muscles and bones.

"We're not going to make it," Yang whispered, her head hung loosely by her shoulder. "I'm too fat."

"No- You're not. I was – joking – before," Blake huffed in reply, breaths cut shorter with every step. "I promise. I can-"

But Blake couldn't finish her sentence, gasping as the side of her head smashed against the ceiling wall. Pain coursed through her like lightning, and Blake slipped, feeling the air leave her as she waited a moment too late to jump. Half of her leg sunk into the water and she felt vicious movement surround them through the ripples.

Her semblance reacted faster than she ever believed, instinct taking over as the panic settled in afterward. She barely escaped, dodging an agitated grimm, which tore through the stomach of her latest shadow decoy.

"Don't worry," Blake heard just in time. "Leave the rest to me."

Yang had said this with such confidence that Blake, for an instant, believed her, spellbound by her partner's voice, which came to her like a hopeful whisper through the darkness.

Then, Blake regained her sense, hearing the familiar clacking sound of a weapon. She made her final jump, sensing the absence of her aura as it completely depleted. Something metal scratched past her ear. She saw Yang slowly raise her right arm. She saw the golden glow of her weapon.

"What are you-?"

An explosion cracked into the night, as loud and raw as a storm.

For a split-second, all was still and quiet. Then, the earth began to quiver.

The damage had been done.

Yang was certifiably insane.

She was insane. She was insane. She was insane!

"Damn it!"

Blake tried her best to dodge the shower of rocks from above. The cavern was on the verge of collapsing. Large pieces of boulders fell down below, reminding her of their own fate if she did not hurry. She used them as stepping stones, leading her through the disarray. There was a large crack that Blake saw through the chaos, a passageway along the wall that was wide enough for the two.

They squeezed through, just in time as an enormous part of the cave ceiling crashed behind them, smashing into the waters. The place shook violently, and Blake's legs finally gave. She stumbled forward, with Yang still on her back.

She heard another explosion, and the earth shook from Yang's reckless actions. Blake coughed, trying hard to stand when her ears picked up on the sounds of heavy rainfall.

Rain, closer than ever before.

Blake raised her head, pupils dilating as she found a tiny fissure. She could almost smell the damp scent of trees on the other side.

"Yang!" she shouted through a cloud of dust. "Up there!"

There was no way of communicating, properly, what she had meant, but Blake trusted her partner in blind faith; and sure enough, there was the flash of Ember Cecilia, whirring above their heads.

Blake did not wait for a second longer. She didn't even hear the third explosion, grabbing Yang, pulling her closer somehow amidst the jumble of dirt and stone. She fumbled for her own weapon, lunging Gambol Shroud into the air in hopes of anchoring it to something- anything. The ribbon tightened around her wrist, and they sore upwards with momentum.

She felt the relief of clean air as they dropped back onto the ground.

The rain now beat on top of them, thick and heavy as hail. It burned her, sinking into the coat of grime and blood on her face and limbs. Blake tried to even her breaths, hardly moving as she felt a clump of wet moss licking the back of her neck.

She finally let go of Yang, and Yang moaned momentarily, before rolling away from her stomach.

"Are we dead?" she asked.

"…No."

"Did we almost die?"

"I think so," Blake replied. She found no energy to rejoice in their survival, neither physically nor vocally.

There was still a slight tremor coming from below. Blake wasn't sure if the earth would give away and the entire ground would collapse and swallow them whole.

She laid there, inhaling and exhaling, shutting her eyelids as she listened to the fall of rain, the deep rumbles of thunder, and the same uneven breathing coming from her partner.

Reluctantly, Blake opened her eyes again, battling through the pain and soreness as she turned on her side.

Yang was right next to her, mouth hung open, eyes closed as well. Her arms were still unnaturally warm, against the wet surface of Blake's skin.

Then, there it was again, that tremor, greater than it was before.

This time, it was accompanied by a loud, inhuman screech. Instinctively, Blake jumped to her feet.

"What was that?" she whispered.

Yang groaned, rolling onto her back before being able to push herself up. "What's what?" she slurred out the question.

By then, Blake had already found her footing, albeit shakily, as she made her way through the swampy grounds. The fog had grown thicker during their time in the cave, and the sun had already set.

She felt the wild vibrations run right underneath her feet, moving her closer and closer towards the sound of a running torrent. She arrived at the foot of a large wooden gate, about five meters high.

It was a dam.

There was a deafening boom, and Blake stepped back in alarm. She bumped into Yang, who made a small "oof" sound. She noticed a few cracks along the side of the dam, and water was beginning to trickle out from the edges.

Blake froze in belated realization. The sound hadn't been coming from underground. It had been coming from the other side.

Something inside the water was screaming, pounding against the wall. And whatever it was, the dam wouldn't be able to contain it for much longer.

She heard another vivid shriek. Yang shut her ears as she laughed.

"I think we're screwed," she said, before collapsing on top of Blake once more.


	5. Chapter 5

"Should we get going then?" Ruby had asked in a barely audible whisper. Weiss agreed without much thought.

Little was spoken since then.

In silence, they walked out the door. The fog had thickened, swaddling the town in a vast ocean blanket. It was lifeless and pale, roaming through the fields like a wandering ghost.

They took a total of ten steps when Ruby stopped dead in her tracks.

Weiss turned to her, puzzled, but she soon heard it as well – a pair of distant footsteps in the rain. Soon enough, a large figure came pounding up through the fog, its breaths sounding heavy and fatigued. Ruby tensed, hands instinctively reaching for her weapon.

"Is that…?" Weiss narrowed her eyes, watching as the shadow grew in color and form.

It was Blake, panting unevenly, with Yang slung over her shoulders.

"Oh my god, Yang!" Ruby sprinted over to them at once, a flurry of rose petals stretching behind her path. "Blake! Are you guys okay?"

"What happened to you two?" Weiss demanded from them both. They appeared safe but exhausted. Weiss wasn't sure what to make of the situation, catching the sight of Blake's tattered robes and Yang's sickly demeanor.

"It's a long story," Blake said through gritted teeth, losing her grip on Yang as she slowed down. Ruby caught her sister by the other arm, steadying her with utmost concern.

"It had better be a good one after all the worry you've put us through," Weiss huffed, uncrossing her arms as she, too, helped carry Yang back into the hospital. It was difficult, as Yang stirred in her sleep, surprising the others as she refused to let go of Blake's side.

"Back off, Weiss," Yang said in a low and callous tone. "That's my wife you're talking to."

There was a slight pause as her words sank in.

"I beg your pardon?" Weiss finally asked, her mood dissolving at the sight of Yang's solemn expression, far too serious to be a joke. Blake, in the meantime, looked close to dropping everything and running away.

"Uh…" Ruby also blinked in confusion. "What did you just say, sis?"

"She needs to see a doctor," Blake mumbled, leaning against a wall as she tried her best not to pass out on the floor. "I don't know what's wrong with her. She's been acting very..."

Blake didn't finish her sentence, perhaps unable to describe just how painfully awkward and frustrating it had been with Yang.

"Was she bitten by the Grimm by any chance?" Weiss inquired, once she could finally tear her eyes away from Yang, who collapsed onto the nearest mattress.

"Yes, but..." Blake appeared perplexed by the question. "How did you know that?"

"Well, apparently, an important piece of information was left out of our debriefing," Weiss recounted sourly. "The grimm are venomous. That's probably why she's been acting all funny."

"They're what?" Blake's face fell, growing pale. "Is she going to be okay?" She looked to Yang, her voice quivering with concern.

"I- I think so. It's hopefully nothing serious," replied Ruby as she pulled out a clean cloth to dampen. She took a seat next to her sister, gingerly setting the wet towel on top of Yang's forehead.

"How's everybody doing?" a voice interrupted them. It was the doctor, back from his errands. He wiped down his glasses by the front of his robes, placed them back over his nose, and his jaws dropped open in shock.

"What happened in here?" His widened eyes darted back and forth, between a weary Blake and an unintelligible Yang. Looking concerned, he bent over Yang's bedside, checking her injured leg with an agitated expression. He saw the bite marks, and quickly turned to Blake, a questioning glimmer in his eyes. "How long has she been like this?"

"A couple of hours, at the most," Blake answered, avoiding his gaze.

"The antidote won't be as effective then. It needs to be administered before the venom sets in," he said, briskly to himself. He stopped midway of checking Yang's vitals and glanced up. He noticed the look of fear brewing on Blake's face and realized his mistake.

"But that doesn't mean she's in any immediate danger," he added hurriedly. "She just needs to rest in order for the venom to leave her system. I'll bandage her wounds for the time being."

There was an audible sigh of relief, as both Ruby and Blake sank down a few inches into their seats. They gave the man a few weak, but grateful, nods.

"What about you, Blake? Are you hurt?" Weiss had to ask Blake, who was looking the worse for wear. There was a smudge of blood on the side of her face, clumsily smeared off by the sleeve of her jacket. "Seriously, what in the world happened to you two?"

"There's no time," Blake grunted. "I'll explain everything later. First, we need to start evacuating the village."

"Evacuate the village?" Ruby passed her a nervous glance, but it was Weiss who raced to ask the question. "What are you talking about?"

"On our way back, we came across an old dam," Blake said hastily. "But it's not going to hold for much longer. There's a gigantic grimm on the other side, and it's getting close to breaking through."

There was a shattering sound, as the doctor dropped one of his syringes. He gaped at Blake, acting as though she had said the unthinkable.

Ruby's eyes widened at the implication. "Are you suggesting that…?"

"We need to get everybody as far away from here as possible," Blake went on, her face clouded with trouble and doom.

Weiss quickly understood the seriousness of the situation. "Is there an emergency shelter people can go to, in case of a flood?" she asked the doctor directly.

"There's a safe place several miles south of the village," he answered, taking off his glasses as he rubbed his eyes in vexation. "But you can't expect everyone to abandon their homes just because you  _think_ there's going to be a flood. That dam was built by our ancestors! It would never break under normal circumstances!"

"I've seen what's on the other side of it," Blake made clear, behaving calmly despite the man's accusations.

"It's only a matter of time before it breaks," she warned, addressing him, and then the others.

As if a decision had already been made, Ruby rose from her seat. "If Blake says there's going to be a flood, then there's going to be a flood."

"I agree. We should start an immediate evacuation process of the village," Weiss concurred as well. She turned to face the doctor, who still looked mighty skeptical. "We were brought here by your people to exterminate the grimm. You trust us to do the job. Now, you need to trust us when we say that we are all in imminent danger."

The man remained in his seat, watching them as the seconds ticked by. He gave Blake another look of some dubiety, but then his eyes pulled in on Ruby, still clutching her sister's hand as she lay in troubled unconsciousness. He sighed, eventually rising from his chair.

"I'll see what I can do," he said as he made up his mind.

Ruby nodded soberly, and they watched him pack up his supplies and leave, striding through the front doors with long, decisive steps.

"I'm sorry," Blake mumbled, looking progressively guiltier. "I should have done something about it when I saw-"

"Hey! There's no way you could have fought off a ginormous grimm  _and_ kept Yang safe on your back." Ruby squeezed her teammate into a tight, comforting hug. "I'm sure you did your best, Blake. Thanks for taking care of my sister."

Even Blake seemed to let her guards down for the moment, accepting Ruby's warm embrace. Weiss bit her tongue, growing serious as she studied the two.

"Where is this dam?" she asked when Ruby finally pried herself away Blake. "Is it close from here?"

"It's near the mountain by the riverside." Blake tried her best to remember. "It's not too far. I think it was about a mile north of that lake we saw earlier."

"Okay, then here's the new plan," began Ruby in a new leveled tone. "I'm going to go and secure the dam before it breaks. You guys stay here with Yang and make sure everybody evacuates the village in time."

There was a period of hushed silence, followed by sounds of utter disbelief. Both Weiss and Blake rose to their feet, shouting things along the lines of "Excuse me?" and "Ruby, no."

"I'll be quick." Ruby rolled her eyes, pulling up her hood as she made for the door. "Just keep each other safe, okay? We can't risk any more people getting hurt."

"Exactly," Weiss stated as she took a step forward. "I'm coming with you."

In return, Ruby sighed, a gesture that was not very Ruby-like at all. She passed Weiss a rather significant look. "It's fine, Weiss," she said, sounding uncharacteristically offhand and indifferent. "Don't worry about me, okay? We're cool."

We're cool? Weiss mouthed the phrase back at her, as if it were the most absurd thing she had heard all year round.

However, before she could respond, Ruby gave her a short, perfunctory nod. Then the door closed behind her, leaving the room in a still, uncomfortable tension.

Weiss could practically hear the gears turning in Blake's head, and before Blake could ask if she had done something wrong, Weiss beat her to the chase.

"You heard her," Weiss said, clearing her throat, pretending as though nothing had happened. "Let's start evacuating the village."

"What do you mean?" Blake voiced her incredulity. "Shouldn't  _you_  go after her?"

It was a sensible question, one that Weiss could not answer straightaway, at least not with proper logic. She began to form a number of rationalizations in her head. She was fully aware of the problem. Ever since their last conversation, Ruby hadn't looked in her direction, not even once to stare in, perhaps, angry accusation. Ruby was unhappy with her, Weiss had to assume. Otherwise, Ruby's cold shoulder didn't seem to make an ounce of sense. But why? There was no reason in Ruby's decision either.

Naturally, Blake had to be the first one to burst the bubble. "Did something happen between the two of you?" 

"Of course not," Weiss said brusquely, not being able to contain her irritation. Blake raised an eyebrow, making herself annoyingly hard to ignore.

"So, I may have upset her," Weiss admitted reluctantly. "But I'm not sure how or when."

She recalled the last few words she had spoken to Ruby, before her violent change in mood. They were friends, just friends. That was what Ruby had wanted to hear, was it not?

"It shouldn't matter," Blake argued, looking stunned that _she_ has to be the one to convince Weiss to see reason. "You can't let her face the grimm on her own. It's too dangerous."

"She's the one who insists on doing this alone," Weiss said obstinately. "I'm not going to follow her against her wishes."

Blake rolled her eyes, realizing that her friend was being childishly obvious.

"Then you can stay here with Yang," she decided, taking Gambol Shroud back into her hands. "I'm going after her."

"Don't be ridiculous," Weiss hissed, trying not to betray too much alarm in her voice. "You can hardly stand!"

"I can still fight," Blake claimed. She stretched out her arms, perhaps to prove a point.

"Oh, for the love of- Fine! I'll go," Weiss said in a resigned voice. "I mean, I refuse to be the one to babysit Yang. I wouldn't want to be here when she wakes up and finds out that her wife's gone missing."

Blake didn't even blink an eye at that. If she realized it was a joke, she didn't show it. She appeared much too tired for that.

"Just tell her how you feel, Weiss," Blake said in a kindly, patient way. It was so soft-spoken, Weiss nearly tripped over her own feet as she made her way to the door.

It was simple, really, that was the most aggravating part of it all. Blake was normally reserved, keeping much of what she thought to herself. Needless to say, when she did open her mouth, her words were like a cutting knife, swift and succinct, just enough to get the job done.

Well, message received, Weiss thought grimly. 

She knew. Blake knew. And yet, there was no way Weiss would make such concessions. Not here, and certainly not to her friend, no matter how perceptive she may be.

"That's- That's neither true nor relevant," Weiss spat before running out the door.

 

* * *

 

Weiss continued to hurry, not stopping until she was quite sure she had left the village behind. Panting, she looked behind her, her attention spiking as she heard loud bells ringing in the air. There were raised voices, growing in volume with every second. Panicked screams, shrieks, and terrified voices reached her ears.

She tore her eyes away, soaring through the air again with the help of her glyphs. It didn't take her long to find Ruby. Her red cape was gliding beautifully between the ugly, skeletal trees.

It was hard to rid the distance between them. It didn't help that Ruby's semblance was speed. But Weiss could hardly afford to slow down, hovering over the trees like a hawk. Once she finally got close enough, she saw Ruby's face, hair flying by her cheeks as she raced through the hallowed sunken grounds.

Weiss lowered her rapier, dropping to the ground with a swift flick of her sword. She caught up to Ruby's right side in mute appeal. However, Ruby gave her no sign of acknowledgment, determined to ignore Weiss for as long as possible. Growing equally stubborn, Weiss decided she would play no part in the act.

"So, what's the plan?" Weiss asked straightaway. "How are we planning on securing this dam?"

"I don't know," Ruby replied, looking thoughtful as she kept her eyes set forward.

"And the grimm? How are we going to stop them from feasting on the entire town?" Weiss tried again, fearing that the conversation would unwind somehow if she didn't carry on the speech.

"I don't know that either," Ruby repeated, finally looking over at Weiss with a genuinely lost expression. "What are you even doing here? I thought I asked you to help Blake with Yang and the rest of the village."

"Just because you're the team leader doesn't mean I have to listen to you all the time," Weiss asserted, still not understanding what Ruby's problem was. "I'm your _partner_. I have the right to stop you from getting yourself killed, just because you're angry at me over some trivial thing I might have done."

"I'm not angry," Ruby clarified, in a kind of defiant growl.

"Then why are you brushing me off?" Weiss challenged, abandoning any sort of tact.

"Because!" Ruby blurted out, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. "You're…confusing!"

Weiss considered this for a minute, lips pressing together with little comprehension. Ruby also stopped herself there, staggering away as if her own words had ricocheted back to her. It was bizarre. Her expression was bug-eyed and fearful.

They came to an abrupt halt when they reached an open clearing.

It was as Blake said. The dam stood a few feet away from where they were, veiled by the fog that was settling in, filling spaces between the trees through the deepening darkness. There was a roaring cascade of noise, echoing through the swampland. For a second, the rain and thunder seemed to render all of them silent, falling merciless and cold.

Be that as it may, none of it mattered for the present moment, not as Weiss stared at Ruby, who, in turn, stared down at her shoes.

When Ruby finally lifted her chin, her face was red, wild and flushed. Weiss followed those silver eyes, like tracers in the night.

"Weiss, listen. I… I like you," Ruby said at length, both cheeks soaked with color. "I like you a lot and- Well, okay, maybe I haven't got everything figured out as you do, but- Even so, what I'm trying to say is… I don't know what I was thinking, okay? I don't know why I got so mad when you said that we were just friends. Because we are! But I just thought that maybe- I don't know."

Ruby paused to bite her lips. At this point, Weiss wasn't even sure if Ruby recognized that she was still talking.

"I thought you were trying to tell me something," Ruby mumbled, then made a crestfallen sound. "I know, it's stupid. Maybe I was reading too much into things, you know?"

"It's fine," Weiss managed to say, her lips wearing a thin, ironic smile.

"No, no. It's not!" Ruby prattled on. "I'm sorry for even bringing this up! I don't want anything to be weird between us..."

"No, Ruby. It's fine. It's okay." Weiss took in a shaky breath of air, praying to every kind of deity there is that she was not wrong about this. "I'm sorry I lied before."

"...About what?"

"About liking you as well," Weiss said even more gently. "I like you, Ruby. As in more than just a friend."

In a way, it was liberating, to get it off her chest. She wondered why she never did so before. Admitting the truth was so easy in retrospect.

Still, Ruby stood there for a paralyzing second, utterly stunned. It was cold, and the plastic taste of rain tore through the surface of her skin.

"Oh," Ruby managed to say as she stood there in the mud. Weiss smiled softly, having expected her partner to be this clueless, this awkward and transfixed. It was Ruby, after all.

"Are you- Are you sure?" Ruby half-pleaded, as if waiting for Weiss to admit that she was pulling her leg.

"Most definitely," answered Weiss, almost laughing at Ruby's concerns.

"I thought you just wanted to be friends," Ruby mumbled, deliberating over this new revelation.

It was ridiculous, Weiss thought as she looked at her partner in quiet wonder. "I thought that's what you would have wanted."

They exchanged a look of understanding, grinning sheepishly at each other. There was a minute of silence as rain filled the hushed void. Weiss finally noticed how closely they were standing. Ruby was practically leaning towards her. Close, so close...

But...

_Crack!_

A loud snap resounded from the distance.

They regained their senses quickly. Reminded of where they were, the two turned towards the roaring dam.

"Oh no," Ruby gasped. "We're too late."

There were long, giant fissures, starting at the center of the reservoir, spreading out from its core like a demonic spider. Water was beginning to gush out, spewing like an uncontrollable fountain.

"Weiss!" Ruby's voice grabbed her attention. She was waiting for her, weapon in position on the ground, eyes regaining their earlier resolution. "Ice flowers!"

Weiss nodded, raising her rapier as she summoned a white glyph in front of Crescent Rose. They fired, shooting large ice-encased bullets. They froze alongside the dam.

"That was a close one," Ruby sighed. With a breath of relief, she began to recharge, danger averted for the time being.

A vivid, unearthly shriek took them by surprise.

By instinct, they blocked their ears, wincing in pain at its deafening capacity.

"It's not working!" Ruby told her, hands still clutching over her ears in vain. Weiss watched as the whole earth shook, the ice falling apart as new cracks split and opened along the wall. Their efforts were too small, she realized.

"Hold on!" Weiss shouted, thinking fast as she ran forward. She jumped into the sky, target locked in position. She thrust her rapier into the wall, a clean stab through the linings of rime, water, and wood. Cold energy ran down her thin-blade, spreading and encasing the entire surface in gelid ice.

For a moment, it was silent in the marshlands. The sound was left vanquished: the voices from the village, the rain, and the grimm's piercing cries.

Weiss lowered her weapon, taking a step back as she turned around. Ruby stood at the very same spot, staring at her partner in pure awe. There was a twitch to the corner of her lips, daring to dance at a sweet melody of victory.

And then, the wall behind her began to crack.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted at her again, panic set in her eyes. "Look out!"

It was too late when Ruby could finally move.

Weiss turned around, just in time as a wave of water came through. It hit her, savagely tearing past her in gusts. The semblance in her refused to work, bent by a sense of odd forbidding. Nothing escaped the sensation of drowning, scent and sound lying forgotten as water clogged up her nose and ears.

The last thing Weiss saw was a large black shadow with two beaming red eyes, watching her through a distortion of water and ice. The grimm hovered over her in both width and length. Its jaws were opened wide, like a python ready to swallow its prey whole; rows of razor sharp teeth stood in multiple layers, drawing back and filling the creature's entire mouth cavity.

Her eyes closed shut. She was drowning. She had to be. There was an undeniable sinking feeling throughout her whole body. Then something plunged towards her, grabbing her harshly by the torso. Weiss felt a fresh slap of air as she resurfaced.

"Weiss!" she heard Ruby's voice ring in her ear. "Weiss, wake up! Weiss!"

When she fully came to, she was being carried in Ruby's arms, suspended over a tree branch.

"Hey, Ruby…" was all she could manage to say before doubling over, coughing and heaving for clean air.

It was amazing how instantaneously her fear vanished, how suddenly safe she felt when she saw Ruby's worried face ogling down at her.

"What is your deal, woman?" Ruby fought to remain calm, though her voice came out loud and shrill. "I'm supposed to be the one who comes up with the crazy ideas, not you!"

"I guess you've somewhat grown on me," Weiss said, smirking as she shakily got back to her feet. Ruby passed her a short look of amusement. It paled, quite fast in comparison, as Weiss looked behind her shoulders.

"Where did it go?" she asked.

The dam had broken apart, a gigantic hole left right in the middle. There was a gush of water, tearing down the marshes, eroding the mud as it swallowed everything it passed into its brutal swelling torrent. The surface of it was thick and greenish-gray. Broken bits of trees were swirling in the eddies, moving haphazardly over the boundary.

"There!" Ruby squinted, pointing her finger down at part of the flood.

A large black mass was moving quickly through the current. It had a protruding back spine, slimy skin, glistening scales, and a long tail to follow.

It screeched into the night, restless and ravenous, and baying for blood.


	6. Chapter 6

The flood had buried half of the houses. There were a few trees, twisting and coiling up by the rapid torrent. The town square looked more like a river, streets lying below the turbid water, and pieces of driftwood, scraps, and debris floating arbitrarily around the block.

As they neared the village, Weiss cast another glyph, dropping them safely onto a part of the wreckage. Ruby took a moment to witness the sight, feeling almost surreal herself. There was a short exchange of dread, as Weiss appeared to share the same concerns. They examined the scene with scrutiny, searching for any signs of life. If Blake hadn't evacuated the village in time, then…

"Ruby, I see them!" Weiss was the first to break the silence, drawing in a long breath of relief. Her finger pointed to a farther section of the village. There were a few figures moving on top of a rooftop.

They ran a little more, reaching close enough to see Blake. She was with a group of people, the doctor, pale yet functional, the young man, still unconscious from before, and a toddler clinging to the front of his mother's sundress.

"Blake! Yang!" Ruby gestured erratically towards them. "Are you guys okay?"

Yang was resting on her side, eyes closed and incapable of responding. At least Blake seemed to hear them, her ears twitching at the sound of her name. She didn't seem to be fairing too well, despite the small thumbs-up she signaled to them from across the water.

She didn't seem to notice, either, a black shadow swimming towards her, stalking her quietly in the moonlit night.

"Blake!"

There was a loud crash through the marshlands. It sent trembles through the water, and Ruby watched, aghast, as the monster finally showed its face, its head – huge and black – terrifying with its exceptionally large mouth, splitting all the way open to the linings of its jaws, teeth as long and thick as kitchen knives.

Blake stumbled, and the grimm lurched forward, catching the scent of fear. It rested on two forelegs, sized almost like toothpicks in comparison to its massive body. In less than two seconds, Blake was on her back gasping for air. The grimm pinned her down with its tail, mouth widening, spilling over dribble and saliva.

"No, no- Hey! Hey, we're over here!" Ruby found herself shouting. Instinctively, she directed Crescent Rose at the monster's backside. The creature screeched once more, present in agitation. Its gleaming red eyes slowly turned towards them.

"Yeah, that's right! I'm talking to you!" Ruby went on even louder. She launched another round, spurred by a sudden brilliant idea. "Come and get us! We're a lot tastier than them, I promise!"

"Ruby!" Weiss gaped at her partner, hissing more so than speaking. "What are you doing?"

The grimm had now changed directions, showing off its nasty teeth and growling hungrily in their direction. It moved quickly, navigating easily through the flooded terrain. Ruby passed Weiss a look of utmost confidence.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Weiss mumbled.

"Relax!" Ruby grinned, activating her scythe as she stood her ground. "I got this."

She counted down in her head, waiting for the grimm to inch closer and closer. The water turned turbulent and chaotic, radiating ripples that swallowed each other whole.

"Now, it's time to…" Ruby raised her arms, just as the grimm emerged from below, its mouth opened and menacing.

"Die!" Ruby hollered, striking down her weapon, pointed directly at the monster's head.

There was a dull, hard clang.

It was not the kind of sound Ruby expected herself to hear. She knew something was wrong, something was terribly wrong from the moment she brought down the tip of her scythe.

"Uh oh."

There was silence on both sides. Ruby couldn't move, not with Crescent Rose stuck in between the grimm's scales. It barely flinched. Red eyes flickered towards her, glowering with a dangerous craving for vengeance.

The grimm pushed forward in retaliation, with Ruby attempting to keep its head below her own. She knew she was faltering, trying to keep her even footing. "Weiss, a little help!"

"Ruby, I  _told_  you!" Weiss was by her side at once, sounding thoroughly exasperated. "Why do you never listen to me?"

She added that last part for good measure as if they were keeping track on some invisible scoreboard. Ruby didn't argue with her, although she didn't think _now_ was not the right time to be pointing fingers.

Weiss jabbed at the grimm's nostrils. It howled with displeasure, distracted enough for Ruby to slip away unharmed. Weiss poised her weapon again, this time directed straight at the Grimm's fleshy underside. As if noticing, the creature squirmed out of the way, hissing as it vanished before their eyes.

There was a wisp of black smoke, left behind as the grimm dipped back into the water. It was too quiet, but Ruby could have sworn that's where it slipped away. She knew she shouldn't, but Ruby had the strange inclination to check, tiptoeing closer to the edge as she peeked a look.

There was nothing there, just a few ripples echoing in circles.

"Uh… Weiss?" Ruby peered into the grainy dark, beyond the clarity of moonlight and the translucent water. "Where'd it go?"

Weiss didn't have time to reply. The grimm made an inimitable cry, much louder, much closer.

Without a warning, it plunged out of the water. Its tail swirled around Ruby, squeezing a fraction tighter as her breath hitched. Her feet left the ground in seconds, every part of her muscle losing its tension to the air. The tail squeezed around her, and Ruby felt her limbs resist uselessly by her side.

She could finally breathe again when the monster grew bored, hurling her across the field. The world rushed by in a blur, sped up in sequence, and then became absurdly slow as she crashed. Her body erupted in pain, her back and shoulder taking the brunt of the fall.

Ruby raised her head and instantly felt nauseous. Ruby could feel the blood shooting through her veins, heart thumping violently in her chest. Her vision slowly returned to her. Ruby blinked herself awake, noticing that she was no longer alone.

"Are you hurt?" Blake appeared at her side, quickly scanning her for any injuries. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm fine." Ruby groaned, rubbing her head as she was helped to her feet.

"Did you get everybody out of the village in time?" she asked. There was a momentary silence, giving Ruby the perfect chance to clear her head.

"Blake?" Ruby asked again, with an increasingly urgent tone. "Did everybody make it out okay?"

"Most of them did," Blake said, at last, sounding unsure and cautious. "I'm still on the lookout for any survivors."

"Okay, then how should we-"

"Ruby! Blake!" Weiss broke apart their discussion, her voice shrill and high-pitched. They looked up to see her in the distance, still standing where Ruby had last left her. She was staring at them, blue eyes full of alert. She was shouting as well, most of what she said drowned by the rushing sound of water.

"Get out of there!" They finally received the message.

There was little time to ruminate, as the platform underneath them tilted violently. The surface shook like a leaf, and this time they knew exactly what to expect. They jumped off just in time as the roof was torn, ripping into two halves as the grimm's head reemerged.

They reunited with Weiss, moving onto a sturdier solid surface. The grimm stayed close by, circling them until its next opportunity to hunt. They fired at it in unison, each gunshot aimed at the creature to no avail. Their efforts ricocheted into the night. The silence returned, far thicker than it had been before.

"This isn't going to work," Blake observed, sounding grim. "Its skin is too thick. Our bullets aren't big enough to break through."

"Not to mention it keeps hiding in the water whenever we get too close!" Weiss added fervently.

They took in a deep breath, having to stop and think. The air turned raw, and something tingled from inside, all of their hair rising together in taut tension.

A strike of lightning flew past from above. There was an explosion, and for a second the sky was lit with light.

All three of them ducked, squinting their eyes as a neighboring tower perished, its old wooden structure scorching and crackling with a fierce electric current. The smell of burning timber stung their noses, though it rained without a cease, dampening the burnt ground. Ruby stared up at the clouds, then back at the remnants of the storm, her mind racing.

"That's it," Ruby whispered, eyes glistening with sudden insight. "Wait, Weiss- That's it!"

Ruby stood up at once, unaffected as thunder roared over their heads. Weiss followed her gaze, appearing more terrified by her partner's delight than anything else. Blake stared at both of them, utterly confused.

"Ruby, no." Weiss instinctively shook her head, grabbing her partner by the shoulder before she could run off and do something incredibly crazy.

"No, Ruby. I know that look!" Weiss accused her sharply. "No way! We are _not_ going to risk dying tonight."

But Ruby smiled at her, seeming hardly deterred. "Don't worry! I have an idea. You trust me, right?"

"Of course I trust you," Weiss said at once, and then grimaced, realizing her own mistake.

"Then I'll be right back!" Ruby replied, already sprinting towards the opposite direction.

"Wait, Ruby!" Weiss screamed in frustration. "I hate it when you do that!"

"I can see you two made up," Blake noted, sarcastically from behind.

"Oh, please. We did no such thing." Weiss scoffed, pretending to be clueless. "Just help me slow that thing down."

Blake obliged, watching Weiss's back as she activated her dust. Towers of ice barricaded the water. It did little to cover the entire ground, and the grimm moved faster, skillfully dodging the frozen edges of the current. Weiss reloaded her cartridge, a flash of annoyance crossing her face. She was prepared to continue but paused when she heard something peculiar in the distance.

"…Help…!"

It was a faint voice, coming dimly through the fog. Weiss stopped dead in her tracks, worried that she would soon recognize the voice to be Ruby's. By her side, Blake grew silent as well.

"Help! Somebody, please!" They heard it again, clearly this time. "Help!"

Blake's eyes snapped across the river, identifying the source of the sound. It belonged to a child.

A young boy was crying several meters away, hopelessly dangling from a broken tree branch. Blake could practically hear the bark squealing under his weight. She swallowed thickly, working around what must have been a painful knot in her throat.

He was too far. She would never make it in time.

 _Time._  Blake thought, before setting into motion.

"Weiss, back me up!" Blake requested, just as she took off. Weiss turned her way, understanding perfectly as she concentrated on her semblance. A golden glyph materialized below Blake's feet. Everything slowed before her, and Blake felt the great rush of adrenaline greet her veins, sensing the leaves, droplets of rain, and branches, hovering and waiting in the air as she made her way through.

The boy held on for another second. A second, before dropping to his doom. Blake dove forward, snatching him in the nick of time as the world caught up to her as well. She landed onto a higher, broader branch, setting down the boy, who seemed to be paralyzed with fear.

"It's okay. You're safe now," Blake told him with a mild tone. It took half a second, but the boy's face soon crumbled. In an instant, Blake found herself in an awkward position, hesitantly rubbing his back as he wailed into her arms.

"Right…" Blake said slowly, attempting to gently pry the child away from her arm. "Um, stay here. I'll be right back."

He didn't stop crying, but it was the least she could say as she left.

The grimm's roar summoned her back down from below. Weiss remained at the bottom of the river, managing to defend herself for the time being. The monster never lost sight of her. Blake spotted its shadow lurking by the rim.

"Watch out!" Blake realized she had shouted. Her voice rang oddly in the air.

Weiss turned to her, and so did the grimm.

A violent noise cracked in the air, and Blake didn't need to look down to know that she'd been hit. She was knocked out of the tree, her grip loose. She heard a dangerous hiss, fatally close to her ears. Under the chill of the mist that spread over her, Blake fumbled for her lost blade.

There was no time as the tail retracted, bent in the same predatory stance. Blake raised her free hand, guarding herself with little aura she had left.

A single shot was heard, and the grimm shrieked, its tail twisting and writhing as an explosion punctured through its bone.

When the smoke cleared away, it was Yang who stood in front of her, not Weiss.

The hero always seemed to drop in from out of nowhere. If the hero was a suitable word for Yang, who appeared positively murderous. Her hands were curled into two big fists. Ember Cecilia was locked and loaded, set to fire again soon.

"Sorry, but she's taken," Yang growled, pounding her fists together in resounding anger. Her eyes were red, burning for blood.

"I'll eat you alive, you stupid, fat ugly piece of sushi!" Yang charged forward, firing at any part of the enemy she could find along the way. The grimm howled again, wounded, retreating back into the water as black liquid seeped through the mangled ends of its tail.

Yang didn't stop there. Driven by rage, she ran off into the dark, pursuing anything that moved in her path. She was soon gone, but her voice still echoed through the air.

For a moment, Blake was frozen still, her mouth hung open with lips slightly parted. Weiss was beside her as well, also staring at Yang's retreating figure, equally as dumbfounded.

"Should we do something about her or…?" Weiss asked, conflicted between sentiments of concern and amusement.

Blake shook her head.

"Just leave her," she told Weiss. Yang was still crazy, or at least half-crazy, but she would take a half-crazy partner over no partner at all.

Rolls of thunder began to draw nearer. The clouds shifted in direction. The grimm gave another horrific, piercing cry. Its red eyes gleamed through the darkness in a slight sway.

"Guys!" A voice called to them from above. "Heads up!"

They looked up and quickly braced themselves. The rooftop shook as Ruby dropped down from the sky, rippling the water as she landed.

"I have a plan and I think it's going to work," Ruby announced. "Weiss, can you help me lure the Grimm back towards the radio tower?"

It was an odd request, but Weiss nodded in response. Again, Ruby turned to Blake, with a similar look of leadership. "Can you make sure that nobody's left in the water by the time we get there?"

"I'm on it." Blake nodded as she slowly came back to her feet.

"Okay. Let's move," Ruby said to Weiss, and the two of them leaped towards another shambled rooftop, steadily working their way towards the tower. They fired at the Grimm as they went, tempting its attention. It followed them according to plan, prowling restlessly through the night.

Blake watched them leave, gathering up her strength as she prepared for another round. She bent over to pick up her weapon, but a sharp pain lanced through her forearm. Blake winced, checking to see that her skin had started to swell, turning bluish and grey in color. Cold sweat dripped down her forehead, but Blake hastily wiped them away, biting her tongue as she took Gambol Shroud into her uninjured hand.

From a close distance, she could hear Yang shouting something coarse, followed by explosions and gunshots. Blake made a risky decision to follow her, a burst of speed coming from older adrenaline.

"Yang?" Blake called out. She was cautious when approaching, in case Yang was too far gone to recognize between friends and foes. Yang turned around at the sound, eyes still a very vivid shade of scarlet. "Yang, it's me."

And that was all it took, Blake noted with surprise. All the anger seemed to leave Yang. She calmed down as quickly as she had exploded.

"Blake!" Yang beamed at her, the warmth of lilac returning to her gaze. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"

Promptly, Yang took her in a passionate hug, straining her bones and nearly snapping her other arm in half. Blake was careful not to cry out in pain, trying to break free.

"I've been looking for you too," Blake played along, hiding her exhaustion.

"Really?" Yang said blithely, surprised but overjoyed. Her eyes twinkled far too brightly. "Then what do you say we pick up from where we left off?"

"No, Yang- We're, um… We're in the middle of…" Blake meant to say something well-reasoned but failed to. Yang wore a rather vacant expression, happily ignorant as before.

The grimm are venomous, Weiss had said. Blake needed to be patient; that was all.

"Yang, do you remember why we're here?" she tried instead. Her partner frowned in return. "We're here on a search and destroy mission, remember?"

It seemed to take Yang great effort to recollect her memory. She appeared largely disinterested in the matter, but Blake waited for Yang to nod, and only proceeded once she did.

"Then..." Blake thought quickly on her feet. "Then how about we play a game?"

"What kind of game?" Yang asked, sounding piqued.

"It's a new training exercise," Blake lied, quickly grabbing at Yang's curiosity. "We look around for any survivors and rescue them from any kind of danger. But we also have to make sure not to touch the water because that's where our enemies are hiding."

"So… The floor is lava and we save as many people as we can?" Yang asked slowly.

"Exactly." Blake grinned nervously. "And whoever saves the most people wins."

"And what do I get if I win?" Yang posed with a truly intense smile. It was endearing, and it wasn't like Blake was relieved, but she couldn't help but smile too.

"Anything you want," Blake told her, in hopes of appeasement.

"You're on, Belladonna." Yang leaned in, almost head-butting Blake as she pulled their foreheads together.

"Because if I win, _someone's_ going to get lucky tonight," she said delicately into her ear.

Blake knew what she meant, quite clearly. The point was hard to miss.

She didn't say a word in response, not as Yang ran off, with too much excitement in her steps. By this point, it really didn't matter. Blake's sanity was already on the verge of extinction.

Let it be, she decided.

 

* * *

 

"So, now will you tell me what your master plan is?" Weiss asked in between the rush.

"Remember that old trick Nora did last year with her hammer?" Ruby explained with an innocent smile.

Weiss paused, then her eyes widened in realization. "You can't be serious."

She didn't have a chance to quarrel. They arrived at the foot of the tower, just as Ruby wished for them to be. The grimm had hidden again, but they both knew they had been followed. The same tingle of death stalked them through the darkness.

"When I give you the signal, keep the grimm locked in position for five seconds," Ruby told her carefully. "Just five seconds and I'll take care of the rest."

Weiss opened her mouth, ready to retort, definitely to point out that there was no way either of them could pull off a stunt like this, not without the proper tools, the right preparation, the calculation, and, well, _Nora_.

Even so, the grimm was closing the distance between them, as well as their time for conclusive talk. It was impossible to dispute the matter further. They were huntresses before they were anything else.

"Five seconds?" Weiss confirmed.

"Yup. A piece of cake, right?" Ruby teased.

"Oh, sure." Weiss rolled her eyes. "It'll be a walk in the park."

Satisfied, Ruby was just about to turn around, but Weiss willed herself forward, grabbing her by the hem of her skirt. Ruby looked at her once more, confused.

"Just be careful," Weiss said in a quiet voice. She felt strangely nervous, watching as Ruby gave her a brief nod of confidence.

"Cover for me?" Ruby asked, a pleasant smile breaking over her lips.

Weiss nodded back. "Always."

 

* * *

 

Weiss didn't look back, taking only a second to make sure Ruby was starting to climb up the tower's ladder. She saved her semblance, for the time being, sensing a large disturbance now that she was alone.

She stood on her glyph, feigning vulnerability as the grimm edged towards her. It swam viciously, inching dangerously close.

Weiss dodged its first attack, jumping and suspending above the water. She predicted the next assault and calculated its distance again. She moved further up in the air, allowing the grimm to snap its teeth at her feet.

By the third count, Weiss moved with routine. The grimm sunk deeper into the river, biding its time before a higher bound. Weiss anticipated it, waiting and waiting in patience until finally, she saw its ugly head break out of the water.

The rain kept her tempo, falling evenly as she breathed. Weiss jumped down as the grimm rose into the air. She struck her rapier down, pinning the surface of the water as it frosted over, fashioning a large portion of the river into an icy pond.

The grimm crashed a foot away from her, denting the ice but not enough to break through. Its tiny legs wobbled across the slippery surface. Weiss smirked, priding herself over the plan. She took a second to look over her shoulders, watching with relief as Ruby made her way up the tower.

Snap! The grimm lunged at her, and Weiss quickly stepped out of the way. She rotated her dust chamber, summoning thin red flames onto her blade. She stabbed at its thick suit of armor. It didn't seem to burn it as much as she hoped.

The rain drummed upon them, cutting at her power and mood. The grimm soon picked up its lost speed, adapting faster than she expected. Weiss kept up with its pace, driven by the promise of a quick return. She kept close to the tower, looking at Ruby as often as possible. She was nearly at the top now. Weiss had to hold on for just a little longer.

It was becoming more and more difficult. The landscape was trying. The ice was starting to break and Weiss needed the most careful concentration not to fall in.

Calm down, Weiss commanded herself. She was a _huntress_. She did this for a living.

...Sometimes Weiss couldn't believe she did this for a living.

Crunch.

She heard the inexplicable sound, of ice giving away. Her stomach lurched and her leg sank deep into the river. She fell backward, sensing the familiar coldness of its splash.

Her fingers knifed through the current, pushing through the thick parting of liquid until her head bobbed out of the water. Weiss kicked furiously, crawling out of the hole before she had the chance to be fish food.

The grimm was waiting for her, drooling over her head as she pulled herself out. She rolled onto her back, thrusting her rapier up at its throat, right as its teeth descended towards her.

She seemed to have picked a sore spot. The monster howled, kicking away from her as it skidded across the ice. Its tail smashed at her from below, blindsiding her as it took her off course. Weiss hissed in pain, catching herself just in time before she was hurled off the frozen terrain.

But the grimm didn't wait for her to recover, diving for her with its skull protruding. Weiss raised her hand, shielding herself with the force of a glyph. She stood her ground, shaking, trying to keep her foe from running back into the water.

Black clouds spread over their heads. Thunder roared in from the north. A streak of silver light split open the sky. Everything flashed in a white haze.

Weiss's attention snapped back to Ruby. She was closing in on the highest level, stopping for the time being as lightning caught onto the tip of the tower's rod, electricity surging down its insulated spine.

The clouds rumbled again, seizing all the tension in the air.

"Weiss!" Ruby motioned at her from above. "Now!"

It was her cue. Weiss swallowed audibly, her breathing beginning to pick up. She ducked, evading the grimm's last lunge at her head, and she sunk her rapier deep into its tail. Ice exploded from her blade and surrounded the grimm's slimy body. It flailed and shrieked, with a force strong enough to break the ice.

But Ruby didn't give it a chance to escape. She took a step back, eyeing the tall metal rod with a look of utmost precision and care.

She raised Crescent Rose into a perfect arc, and swung.

There was a clean cutting sound.

Ruby grinned in victory, watching as the rod began to tilt, perfectly facing due south. It plummeted straight down, gaining in momentum. Weiss was lost for words. She stepped out of the way, gaping as the rod rammed right into the grimm's backside. It made an earth-shattering cry, and Weiss backed away some more in alarm.

"Hey, Weiss!" She heard Ruby's voice again. She turned towards the call.

Ruby was standing on the edge, her feet almost dangling off the tower as she peered down. Her arms were spread apart, her silver eyes glowing with limitless trust.

"Catch!"

And then, Ruby jumped.

Weiss felt her heart stop, her blood running cold.

She moved on instinct, faster than the thunderous sound that followed. Ruby dropped into her arms, knocking all the air out of her lungs.

There was no time to speak. Weiss pinned down her sword in between them, using the last of her energy to case them in a thick cocoon of ice.

Then came the awaited crack of lightning. Boom! The shockwave rolled across the field, echoing through the current of water. They were blinded for a moment. And the ice cracked, only a second behind as it exploded in turn. They flew past several trees, landing in a heap of salvaged wreckage and mud.

There was a monstrous cry, as loud as the storm that brewed before them.

Then, it all fell silent, except for the soft pattering of rain.

Weiss laid there for a long moment, hearing herself breathe in and out. She felt another heartbeat, fast but slowly easing, from beside her.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked for a quiet sign.

"Yeah…" Ruby gave it to her, groaning as she stayed still on her back. "I'm right here."

Peace reigned for several minutes. Weiss wondered if she had gone deaf, but soon realized that the rain had now slowed to an end. Her eyes gradually opened, and they weren't foiled by that dreadful fog. She turned to her left, and her heart did a double-take as she caught Ruby staring at her. Her  _insane_ partner, Ruby Rose.

"And which part of that seemed easy to you?" Weiss asked, feeling an old smile tug at her lips.

"I don't know." Ruby managed to grin. "But it worked like a charm?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, no silver eyes stuff :P I wrote this fic before volume 3's ending.
> 
> Thank you for reading! The last chapter to come soon :)


	7. Chapter 7

It was not an encouraging morning. The world was still insipid and dreary, and water was dripping from the trees. Outside, the fog had thinned momentarily.

Ruby woke up in bed, not remembering exactly how she had gotten there. Her eyes opened, dull and groggy from yesterday's sleep. She found herself in an empty room, alone. Another bed stood across from her, its sheets neat and folded. With effort, she tried to sit up, recalling the past hour or so.

There was a storm. She had been at the tower with Weiss. They had finally taken down the grimm...

And her memories turned into a blur from there.

"Good morning," said a voice, jarring Ruby out of her thoughts.

Ruby looked up at the door and felt an immediate rush of comfort. Weiss stood at the door, looking piqued but relieved, which was very much the norm these days. At once, she was by Ruby's side, offering her a cup of lukewarm water.

"Whoa…" Ruby moaned, feeling a wave of nausea as she reached forward to take it. "What's going on? Where are we?"

"Don't move," Weiss ordered her somewhat softly. She helped Ruby as she took a few sips of water. "You have a mild concussion, which is hardly surprising after what happened last night."

"What? Oh." Ruby gently massaged the back of her head. "Yeah, that would explain the headache."

"We're at the emergency refuge center now," Weiss patiently filled her in with the details. "We managed to evacuate the entire village here. The mayor and I just finished the final headcount and, fortunately, everybody's accounted for."

"And what happened to the grimm?"

"You blew it up, remember? Along with the rest of us," Weiss said tartly, and Ruby offered her a sheepish grin. It had been a memorable evening indeed.

"You collapsed after that, so I had to carry you back here," Weiss went on, sounding incredibly displeased. "Blake's recovering as well. She's nursing a badly broken arm. And Yang's finally back on her feet. I never thought I'd come to say this, but I'm glad she's her normal self again."

Ruby blinked. That was a pound full of information to process, with the whole migraine still settling in place. She nodded slowly, steady in understanding. She must have been wearing an odd expression as Weiss leaned in, eyes watching her for any signs of distress.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked quickly. "Does your head hurt? Should I call the doctor for you?"

"No, no! I'm just happy we all made it out okay." Ruby beamed after a moment. "That was some crazy first mission we had."

"I'll say," Weiss responded in a matter-of-fact way. "When we return to Beacon, remind me to sit you down and inform you of the precautions we need to take before racing off headfirst into a thunderstorm."

"Uh… Are there such precautions?" Ruby wondered out loud.

"That's not the point," Weiss huffed, sounding increasingly more peevish. "One wrong move and you would have been worse off than the grimm. What if I was too late? Or if the lightning bolt had hit you instead? We're talking about serious, life-threatening injuries here, Ruby!"

"Yeah. But, well, you helped," Ruby tried to agree with her.

"Just because I _helped_ doesn't mean I have to be happy about it. I was worried sick!" Weiss reasoned, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits of accusation.

"Wow. " Despite the situation, Ruby had to giggle at her partner's alarmist concerns. "Wow, the Ice Queen really must like me, huh?"

"Oh, so  _now_  you notice," began Weiss in an offended voice.

"Hey! How was I supposed to know you liked me, you know, in that way?" Ruby defended herself. "You can be really hard to read sometimes."

"Yes, well," Weiss swallowed another fit of irritation, recomposing herself as she continued, "I'm sorry I can't be as conspicuous as Yang."

"Where is Yang by the way?" Ruby asked, noticing her sister's lack of presence in the room.

"She went out looking for Blake," Weiss replied, her lips curling in interest at the thought. "I imagine it'll be a long conversation, especially after what they've been through."

"Uh oh." Ruby laughed as well. "Man, I would not want to be Yang right now."

"Agreed." Weiss nodded accordingly, picturing Yang as she tried to explain things over to her newly beloved "wife."

The two were quiet for a bit, both staring, ruminating in communion. It was clear that there was some other issue they would like to discuss, bidding time before finally acknowledging that now was the best time to converse in absolute privacy.

"So… Should we talk about what happened between us?" Ruby started, fiddling with her thumbs. "Like, are we together now? Like together-together or…"

Weiss grimaced, deciding that Ruby had been spending too much of her time with Nora.

It awfully sounded like she and Ruby were about to have "the talk," as the rest of the world phrased it. She was raised as a Schnee though. Weiss wasn't supposed to waste her time with relationships and other such frivolous diversions. She wasn't educated in the field of romance.

"I don't know," replied Weiss, feeling strangely defensive. "I've never actually done this before."

It was easiest to admit this in front of Ruby, who would have understood her better than anyone else she knew.

"Me neither." Ruby grinned at her. "I was kind of hoping you had the answers to everything."

"I certainly don't have them now," Weiss sighed. "Besides, I'm not always right you know."

"Sure!" Ruby snorted. "Try saying the same thing during our next exam week. It's always 'I'm right about this' or 'you guys are wrong about that.' It's like listening to a broken record player."

"Well, perhaps I wouldn't be as harsh if you learned your lesson and stopped procrastinating all the time," Weiss pointed out through gritted teeth.

"Nah." Ruby shook her head. "You've got your wacko study schedule and I've got my own code of last-minute panic to live by."

It was very hard not to mock this.

"I'm not even going to try and argue with that logic," Weiss said as an alternative.

"That's what you _always_ say," Ruby gave her a funny look, "and then you go ahead and yell at me anyway."

"I do not-" Weiss stopped herself short, realizing she was being sucked into another childish argument. "How did we even end up here? I thought we were talking about something important for a change."

"We were!" Ruby smiled respectively. "But I asked you the first question and you still didn't answer me."

Ruby seemed to be strategically patient with her. Certainly, there was something abnormal about the matter.

For weeks, Weiss had been trying to tell Ruby how she felt, especially after wasting the summer getting over the idea that she did, in fact, care for Ruby in that sort of way. It was a grueling process, something she didn't want to get into at the moment. It was stored away in the deep corner of her mind, never to open again unless she was mandated for therapy.

When she managed to tell Ruby the truth, it had been because Ruby reciprocated her feelings. And this was good news. And yes, Weiss was happy. Perhaps she was happy…for the first thirty-eight seconds. Then, her mind went to some wild conclusions.

Had she even envisioned herself actually dating Ruby Rose? That hadn't been part of the agenda at all. Weiss just wanted to spend some more time with her partner, as much as she possibly could. There was nothing unreasonable about that. After all, they spent almost every other day in each other's company, mostly to bicker endlessly with one another, but still...

"We're already together, in a way, seeing as we lack any sort of obvious boundaries." Weiss waited a long minute before answering slowly, unsure. Ruby was still smiling at her, which she took as a good sign.

"But I suppose it would be nice to be more than just your partner by official terms," Weiss said truthfully, adding more in hesitation. "I mean, unless you don't want to."

"No, no, you're right." Ruby rubbed her temple with her thumb, playing with a little chuckle at her throat. "I have no clue how to do this, believe me. You're my best friend and everything. It's totally weird, but it's cool. So, yeah. I think the whole official thing sounds nice. It'll be fun to give it a try."

She seemed to mull over the idea, looking much happier than before.

"So, how about we go outside for a walk? I kind of want some fresh air," Ruby asked as she carefully slid out of bed. Her hand, somehow magically, found its way between Weiss's fingers. At this, Weiss assumed an expression of great discomfiture, to which Ruby simply laughed, wearing another one of her guiltless smiles.

"Wait. Is that all? We're done talking about this?" Weiss felt oddly cheated, like the entire process had been exaggerated inside her head.

"Yeah?" Ruby frowned. "Sorry, did you have more things to say?"

"Well, in case I wasn't clear enough- I like you, Ruby," Weiss said again, refusing to believe that it would be this easy. "I'm not sure if I necessarily love you or not, but I _do_ like you. I like you a lot more than I like other people."

Ruby gave her an odd look, listening as she smiled crookedly at her.

"As ridiculous as this may sound, I need to make sure you understand what I'm saying here. You understand, right?" Weiss stared at Ruby, straining to convey the gravity in her eyes. "Nod once if you understand."

"Gee, I think I got it." Ruby nodded back teasingly, amusing herself over Weiss and her roundabout way of affections. "And I love you too, Weiss. Even if you're, like, super high maintenance."

 

* * *

 

Blake was brooding by the riverside, the water calming after the short deluge.

She had been staring hard at her rippling reflection in the water. Her ears bent forward, listening to the trickling stream as a wind blew from across the current. Her eyes meandered around, sweeping her gaze over the scant bushes and the trees that stood away from the creek. It was, daresay, peaceful. A welcome distraction after the recent turn of events.

Then she heard a sound, thick boots sloshing against the mud. Blake glimpsed over her shoulders, noticing a figure hiding behind the trees. She looked away when noticed, and so did Blake, figuring that her partner would approach her when she felt the need.

It didn't take long for Blake to hear incoming footsteps, hesitant and offbeat. They stopped once, moved again, and halted twice, settling at a spot a few feet away from her own.

"Hey, Blake." Yang greeted her at long last, looking down at her with softened eyes. "It took a while for me to find you."

Blake met her gaze, begrudgingly nodding for a moment, before turning her attention back towards the river.

"So… What are you doing out here?" Yang asked as she sat down. "Fishing?"

Blake allowed the joke to pass unanswered. Yang picked up on the mood rather quickly this time, sitting in silence for a minute as she waited.

"Is your arm feeling any better?" Yang tried again.

In reply, Blake gave her a sorely sardonic grin, holding up her left arm, which was still wrapped in a thick white cast.

"Right." Yang slowly nodded. "So, that would be a no…"

Blake shrugged in acknowledgment, caring less about her injury than she should. Most of her aura had returned since last night, and while it would take some time to recuperate, she knew she would be making a full recovery very soon.

"Um, well, Ruby should be awake by now," Yang decided to change the subject. "I heard how she blew up a tower and fried up the grimm. Pretty crazy, huh? I can't believe I missed all of that."

There was yet another uncomfortable pause.

"I left her with Weiss so that they could talk things over," she went on, voice now peaking in mild astonishment. "By the way, did you know that Weiss has a thing for Ruby?"

If Yang hoped to send her thoughts in a new direction, then her plan worked marvelously. Blake felt a pang of disbelief, having no choice but to stare at her partner in open amazement.

"What do you think?" Blake arched her eyebrows, daring Yang to reconsider the question.

"Okay, fine. You might have figured it out ages ago but I literally just found out!" Yang said, as if she, the older sister, didn't know what to make of the situation yet.

"Yang…" Blake let out a tiny half-hearted laugh. "How unobservant can you be?"

"Hey! At least I noticed it before Weiss said anything!" Yang smiled broadly, then seemed to catch her breath. She twiddled with her thumbs, deciding to take this opportunity to finally get to the point.

"Anyways, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about," Yang brought up the obvious. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"

Blake frowned, sobering up at once.

"Is it because of something I did while I was uh...? You know, sort of unconscious?" Yang asked carefully, trying hard to read Blake's expression.

"I don't know," replied Blake, sighing as she promptly retreated back into a sulk. "I'm not sure if I'm even mad at you."

It was a complicated emotion. Blake had no idea where it transpired from, except that it resided with Yang somehow. Ever since she managed to tuck Yang into bed last night, with a minimal amount of touching she might add, Blake had been strategically avoiding her all morning.

"What did I do wrong?" Yang wondered, sounding as pitiful as she could. "I can't apologize if you won't tell me what happened."

What had Yang done wrong? The list could go on and on.

"Well, you called me 'kitten' a few times," Blake said the first thing that came to mind. "And you really liked to touch my ears."

"Wow." Yang looked like she was ready to kneel on the ground. "I'm so sorry about that. You know I would never treat you like that, right? Even if your cat ears are super adorable."

Blake grinned slightly. But hearing Yang's apology didn't make her feel any better, mostly because that hadn't been the real reason for her mood at all. Her face screwed up in thought, and she wore an almost sheepish look.

It was more or less petty of her, to mention this when Yang had been quite so delirious to be herself.

"You also called me your wife," Blake added in a quiet tone. She felt the accusation was a mistake as she was uttering it.

At this, Yang's face turned significantly red. Her mouth formed the word "oh," but she didn't speak it out loud.

"Right, uh, Weiss might have mentioned that a bit," she mumbled awkwardly. "And I'm sorry about that too."

Yang smiled apologetically. Her eyes, though, had regained a curious sparkle as they stared into hers. "But you know I would have totally meant it, right?"

"Meant what?" Blake questioned, slightly taken by surprise.

"Asking you to be my wife," said Yang with an impish grin.

"Actually, you never asked me," Blake blurted out too soon.

Unfortunately, Yang seemed to take this as a great offense, her jaws dropping open at the mere thought. Quite abruptly, she decided to get down on one knee and she reached for Blake's hands.

"Blake Belladonna," Yang began, fitting in dramatic pauses and looking painfully earnest. "Will you be my-"

"What? No!" Blake shouted, mortified. "Yang, I wasn't asking for a proposal!"

Yang feigned an expression of great dismay. Blake growled in return, pushing her partner aside with a powerful jerk.

"Honestly, I can never tell whether you're joking or not," Blake said in a deep undertone, too tired to be indignant.

"I'm never joking, babe," said Yang, as she gave a lavish wink.

"Yang, please," Blake snapped. "I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you, if it is at all possible."

That was a rather sharp remark, and Blake – after hearing her own tone of voice – was about to apologize when Yang, conceding, nodded her head.

"I know," she agreed. "I'm sorry."

Yang was still grinning at her, but her gestures were quickly subdued, as though she didn't want to cross some invisible line.

In hindsight, this argument was bound to happen at least once during their four years of partnership. Yang had always been somewhat of a flirt. Blake knew this because everybody knew this. That being the case, if Blake were smart, she wouldn't be taking anything Yang said to heart.

Even so, there was always a side of her that invited in more, second-doubting each pun or anecdote for some ulterior meaning. She hated that part of herself. And she disliked Yang for reminding her of it each time.

"Come on, Blake." For a moment, Yang looked sincerely concerned, fearing that what said resulted in some irreparable damage. "You can't stay mad at me forever."

"I can try," she said back dryly.

"Listen, I know you don't like it when I joke around and stuff," Yang was trying to explain. "That's just how I usually express myself, you know? If I went all serious on you then, uh… It wouldn't seem right."

Then Yang came over to her. She came up very close like she were on the verge of doing something more than mere words. She stopped herself fairly soon, deciding to pull Blake in by the shoulder instead.

"Since I know how much it bothers you, I'll try to be more outright with you from now on," Yang assured her. "But if this whole 'Blake, you're my wife' fiasco didn't open up your eyes to anything, then I don't know what to tell you."

Yang bowed her head, sparing Blake from having to witness her show of emotions. "Because, in case you haven't noticed already, I'm kind of into you."

That was a tad more candor than she had hoped for.

Speechless, Blake sank in deep reflection, deliberating over the unfairness of it all. How unjust it was to feel the words escape from her without fail, somehow slipping away, stolen as she tried to talk, or even as she did nothing but sit there, staring into Yang's eyes. Her eyes, which were uncharacteristically serious. It was startling. And yet, for the consequent second, it felt safe. It felt right.

"Oh." Blake felt incredibly stupid for a change. "I thought... I thought you just enjoyed teasing me."

"Sure, your reaction is a big part of it." Yang laughed it off. "But that doesn't mean I'm not ever being real with you."

Blake fell silent after that, and Yang said nothing more. She began to tug at her hair, a nervous habit she sometimes showed.

"See?" Yang said with a pout. "I'm bringing down the mood by being all serious."

"It's worth it sometimes," Blake told Yang, whispering in genuine gratitude. She smiled to herself, now letting her head rest comfortably on Yang's shoulder.

She risked the chance to look up and saw that Yang was avidly avoiding eye contact, choosing to squint away at some far-off bushes. She waited for a second, checking to see how distracted Yang was. When she didn't respond, Blake inched forward and kissed the side of her cheek.

It was quick but affectionate. Something Blake found she had always wanted to do.

A noiseless alarm went off in her head.

In an instant, Yang was holding the tingling spot on her face, rubbing it in disbelief as she opened her mouth to retort.

"You- Uh… That was… You- What?"

She was not very articulate, to say the least. Blake teased her with no words, enjoying the fact that it had been her turn to render Yang silent for once.

"Wait." Yang paused at the sudden realization, her lips spreading into a wide smile. "Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

Blake smiled when she couldn't hold it in any longer. "No more than I usually am."

"And is this your way of saying yes to my proposal?" Yang continued, her voice sounding much too hopeful. It was supposedly charming.

"It's a maybe," Blake hummed. "We'll see how it goes."

They drew in a long breath of satisfaction and excitement. Blake didn't say any more, but she's always been unusually communicative in a reserved manner, and Yang understood that she meant a great deal more than what was verbally spoken.

"Good grief," a disgusted voice said from behind. "Are you two still acting like a married couple?"

It was Weiss, as one would expect, greeting them with her cutting wit. Ruby was by her side, standing unusually close, more so than Weiss would allow her to do in the past. They seemed much happier, less antsy than the last time Blake had seen them. She could only figure that this meant good news.

"Why, hello there," Yang returned, looking amused from one to the other. "You sound a bit jealous there, Weiss. I hope you weren't planning on jumping the gun with my baby sister. It's too soon to be hearing wedding bells!"

Weiss passed Blake a withering stare. "If you don't shut her up, then I will."

Blake shook her head, laughing quietly when Ruby interrupted them instead.

"Hold that thought, guys," she said, holding out her scroll for the rest to all see. "Looks like I'm getting a call from the school."

They recognized the words 'Beacon Academy' flashing on her screen. Promptly, they huddled around their leader, curious as Ruby answered her phone.

"Miss Rose." It was Professor Goodwitch. As usual, she appeared profoundly unhappy. "I just received your team's latest report from Mistral."

Weiss turned to Blake and Yang, who were similarly confused.

"It says here that you faced an unknown grimm specimen, and though your team managed to contain the situation..." Her voice made a sharp turn here. "Your actions resulted in mass destruction of the town square, risking lives of several innocent civilians and resulting in a few minor injuries for your team. Now, is this all true?"

There was a moment of fearful silence.

"Okay, so maybe there were a couple of obstacles along the way?" Ruby stalled, trying to come up with a proper excuse. "But, um... At least nobody died?"

Weiss, not so subtly, thumped her partner across the back.

"I mean- At least we dealt with the grimm infestation, right?" Ruby changed her words, fast, glancing around nervously at her teammates for support.

"Next time, would it be possible for your team to dispatch the grimm without accidentally destroying public property?" It was a rhetorical question, much more terrifying when asked by Professor Goodwitch, accompanied with her impenetrable glare.

"We're deeply sorry for the mess, Professor." Weiss swept in for some crucially needed damage control. "We will absolutely take that into consideration for the future."

"Yeah! We'll totally be taking that into consideration, exactly." Ruby maintained her hopeful, unimpeachable smile, which would break anyone's resolve if engaged with for too long.

Eventually, their professor let out an exhaustive sigh.

"Well done, students," she informed them, according to protocol. "Please report back to Beacon to receive your next assignment."

Then, the screen went black before any of them could let out a breath of relief.

"When did you send a report to the school?" Weiss rounded on Ruby, as soon as the call was finished.

"Uh… A couple of minutes ago?" Ruby replied hesitantly. "While we were going for a walk?"

"That's what you were doing?" Weiss stared at her partner, in half-disdain and half-accusation. "And why would you report  _everything_  back to Professor Goodwitch?"

"What? I was being honest," Ruby argued with integrity.

"Exactly!" Weiss retorted. "She'll never trust us with anything ever again!"

Yang rolled her eyes in response. "Yeah, but how much did she really trust us to begin with?"

"Be that as it may, unlike you, I happen to have an impeccable academic record," Weiss said, with a hint of pride in her voice.

"Then it wouldn't hurt you to be taken down a peg or two?" Yang joked.

"I'm sorry," replied Weiss, tonelessly. "Do you not understand what the word _impeccable_ means?"

"Come on, guys! Let's not fight!" Ruby squeezed them both into a hug. "Not when we just finished our first solo-mission as a team!"

"Of course," Weiss said waspishly. "After all, why should we celebrate by upholding tradition?"

"What are you talking about?" Ruby snorted as if her partner was being the silly one. "We only argue when you're annoyed at us, and that's pretty much every day of the week. It's way too routine to call it a tradition."

"To be fair," responded Weiss whilst scowling, "I am never annoyed without good reason."

"Hmm…"

"What do you mean by that 'hmm,' Ruby?" Weiss began to raise her voice. "Whatever it is, I demand that you take it back."

"I can't take back a hum!" Ruby countered. "It doesn't mean anything. It's just a sound people make!"

"Ah, an early lover's spat. Way to go, sis," Yang congratulated Ruby from behind. "And F.Y.I. Not my fault."

"Yes, this one is entirely Ruby's fault," Weiss agreed with her for once.

"Um, hello? I didn't do anything wrong?" Ruby stood there, flailing her arms.

"Nobody did anything wrong," Blake finally intervened, forcing all of her friends to snap their mouths shut. "Could we please drop this and go home?"

The three of them exchanged a short glance, and then they all slipped into a moment of laughter.

"Aw, Blake. You always know how to keep us in line," Yang said humorously, linking her partner by the arm as they moved in direction of the shelter.

"Team RWBY, ready to head back to Beacon!" Ruby announced, stringing along Weiss by her hand.

They spent their subsequent hours of waiting, assisting the refugee center, helping set up tents for people who had lost their homes, distributing supplies and offering to clean up the wreckage from the flood.

The mayor and the rest of the villagers were surprisingly optimistic and forgiving. Yes, half of their homes had been destroyed by the flood. This was an undeniable fact. But most of the civilians thanked them rather than blaming them. They suspected that if a flood were to happen, it might as well have happened in the presence of four excellent huntresses in training.

In the end, the time came when they were due to leave.

An aircraft had been sent from the school. It landed a mile away from the swamps.

Ruby looked back at the village for one last time. The water was beginning to slowly recede. Ironically, the initial odor had cleared, and the smell was almost soothing to the senses after a storm.

A few fish carcasses still floated above the water. A few shadows of grimm twitched underneath the sunlight. If there were any more trouble, the townspeople would be sure to alert them again soon.

"So..." Yang turned to the group as they left the scenery behind. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm _starving_."

"Oh, me too!" Ruby piped in. "What do you wanna eat for dinner?"

"How about some sushi, huh?" Yang grinned a little too widely. "Blake, you still a fan of tuna?"

Ruby snickered into her sleeves. Even Weiss had to laugh at that joke.

"No, Yang." Blake smiled playfully. "Not for a long, long time."


End file.
